The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a federal rule mandating COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly testing for companies with 100 or more employees while also seeking comments about potential parts of the rule that could force massive government overreach into American lives.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro highlighted the Request for Comment section of OSHA’s document announcing the emergency temporary standard, which featured seven authoritarian aspects of the ETS that could become part of a permanent rule.
OSHA standards are required to be replaced by a permanent regulation after six months, according to Bloomberg.
The seven areas OSHA sought comments about included sweeping, invasive suggestions like the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for companies with under 100 employees.
Questions in the document included, “How much time would it take, what types of costs would you incur, and how much would it cost for you to implement [vaccination and/or testing requirements]?”
Another section asked whether fully vaccinated people should be required to wear masks in the workplace.
“Should portions of the rule, such as face coverings, apply to fully vaccinated persons?” OSHA’s document asked.
The third area of consideration involved no exceptions for natural immunity.
“Given scientific uncertainty and limitations in testing for infection and immunity, OSHA is concerned that it would be infeasible for employers to operationalize a standard that would permit or require an exception from vaccination or testing and face covering based on prior infection with COVID-19,” the document said.
The fourth area discussed the potential to remove testing as an alternative to vaccination.
“Should OSHA impose a strict vaccination mandate (i.e., all employers required to implement mandatory vaccination policies as defined in this ETS) with no alternative compliance option?” OSHA asked.
The fifth area asked questions about testing employees more than once per week.
“Should OSHA require testing more often than on a weekly basis?” it asked.
The sixth area addressed quality standards for masks.
“Are there particular workplace settings in which face coverings meeting one standard should be favored over another?” OSHA asked, suggesting only masks meeting a certain quality standard would be acceptable in the workplace.
The seventh area included other “controls against SARS-CoV-2 transmission recommended by OSHA and the CDC.”
The open-ended list included ongoing social distancing, physical barriers and specifics such as ventilation requirements for businesses, suggesting a potential addition of requirements for American businesses.
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