Date: September 9, 2021

Barron’s spoke with TELG principal Nick Woodfield on President Biden’s new mandate requiring firms with 100 or more employees to require vaccinations or weekly COVID-19 testing. Nick explained that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has the authority to enforce workplace safety regulations and the new mandate will likely withstand legal challenge.

Quoteworthy:
“[The agency] can tie [enforcement regulations] to an important government requirement, which includes mandating safe workplaces."

Nicholas Woodfield

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[EXCERPT]

Biden Vaccine Mandate Should Withstand Legal Challenges, Experts Say

President Joe Biden’s new mandate that firms with 100 or more employees must require vaccinations, or weekly Covid-19 testing, will likely withstand legal challenge, several legal experts said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has long had the authority to enforce regulations affecting workers’ well-being, they noted.

[…]

The agency is expected to soon issue a temporary emergency standard covering 80 million private-sector workers. Businesses who don’t comply will be fined up to $14,000 per violation, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“They can tie those things to an important government requirement, which includes mandating safe workplaces,” said Nicholas Woodfield, an attorney at Employment Law Group in Washington, D.C.

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