How will President Biden's COVID-19 mandates impact New Mexico employers?

PRESIDENT BIDEN ISSUES COVID-19 MANDATES IMPACTING TWO-THIRDS OF U.S. WORKFORCE Yesterday, September 9, 2021, President Biden announced a new six-part plan to combat COVID-19 and the surging Delta variant. The plan will significantly impact private employers with over 100 employees, as well as federal contractors, healthcare workers, and teachers and staff of select programs. With hospitals and intensive care units reaching maximum capacity (overwhelmingly unvaccinated patients), the president called this now a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” This update will focus on the employment aspects of the president’s plan. For the entire plan, please visit https://www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/. 1. Employers with 100 or more employees will be required to mandate the vaccine or require weekly testing for all employees. President Biden instructed the U.S. Department of Labor, specifically the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop an emergency rule to require all employers with 100 or more employees to be fully vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing. He explained that many major corporations have already implemented such rules, including United Airlines, Disney, Tyson Foods, and Fox News. Part of the rule will require employers to provide paid time off for employees to receive the vaccine. The president did not give a specific timeline; however, he said that OSHA would be issuing the Emergency Temporary Standard soon. This requirement will impact over 80 million employees. Employers who do not comply could face fines of $14,000 per violation, according to one official. 2. All healthcare workers at Medicare and Medicaid participating hospitals are required to be vaccinated. This will cover approximately 50,000 providers and over 17 million healthcare workers. 3. All federal workers and federal contractors are required to be vaccinated. This is projected to impact over 2.5 million employees and contractors. 4. All staff in Head Start and Early Head Start programs, teachers and staff at Department of Defense Schools, and staff operated by the Bureau of Indian Education shall be fully vaccinated. These schools serve over 1 million children every year. This mandate will impact 300,000 staff. It is projected that this the new mandate will require over 100 million Americans (two thirds of all U.S. workers) to be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing.

Additional Requirements and/or Recommendations: - Double fines for those who refuse to wear masks while engaging in interstate travel (airplanes, trains, maritime vessels, and intercity bus services.) - Making at-home tests more affordable and easier to access. - Calling on entertainment venues such as sports arenas, large concert halls, and other venues to require patrons to be vaccinated or show a negative test on entry. - Eligible vaccinated individuals should get booster shots once they are available. This is an evolving story, and more information will be provided to MNW members as soon as it is issued by OSHA and/or the Executive branch.

With questions about how these new mandates will affect you and what procedures you need to establish please contact jeffrey.ball@managementsouthwest.com.