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The
department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration
submitted the proposed rule for review. Some details could
change, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The move
indicates the proposed standard could be released soon.
The mandate would apply to businesses with 100 or more employees
and will be implemented under a federal rule-making mechanism
known as an emergency temporary standard. It would affect
roughly 80 million workers nationwide.
Along with Biden's order last month that requires all federal
workers and contractors to be vaccinated, the orders cover 100
million people, about two-thirds of the U.S. workforce.
Biden's mandate announcement in September came at a
breaking-point moment as the country struggled to control the
pandemic and a large swath of the nation's population refused to
accept free vaccinations that have been available for months.
The coronavirus has killed more than 700,000 Americans.
The workplace vaccine order has spurred pushback from many
Republican governors. On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a
Republican, issued an executive order banning businesses and
other private entities in his state from requiring Covid-19
vaccinations for employees.
The plan has also drawn mixed reactions from companies. Many
support the government's goal of speeding the pace of
vaccinations, but smaller employers and those with mostly hourly
workers have expressed concern the policy could be difficult to
implement.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington. Editing by Gerry
Doyle)
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