The Biden administration is examining what authority businesses have to mandate vaccines, a top U.S. official told Reuters on Friday, as it considers what more steps can be done to halt the spread of COVID-19.
While the shots are widely available in the country, some Americans have opted not to get them. Meanwhile, the fast-spreading Delta variant has threatened to undo the country's economic and public health gains.Among the concerns is the possibility that companies will be exposed to discrimination lawsuits as they call staff back to their desks after 18 months of pandemic-induced work from home.For his part, President Joe Biden has already endorsed such moves.
Still, the federal government, which is the country's largest employer, has stopped short of such steps. They have required unvaccinated employees to submit to increased testing. The administration has also been in early policy discussions about a "range of options" to "continue to mount a wartime response against the virus," press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. Those options could include restricting federal funds, such as Medicare money, from nursing homes and long-term care facilities to spur vaccination.
According to the preliminary results of an ongoing pulse survey of more than 200 American employers launched on July 19 by consultants Mercer, 14% now require staff to be vaccinated in order to work at a company site. There have been around 2,950 COVID-19-related employment lawsuits in the United States since the start of the pandemic, ranging from disputes over remote working to workplace safety and discrimination, the law firm Fisher Phillips said.Our Standards:Subscribe for our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox.
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