The way to proceed
The companies have been left to their own devices to decide how best to proceed.
“We encourage all employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19,” Leslie O’Hara, deputy director of human resources for Fuyao Glass America, told the Dayton Daily News in an email. “We haven’t started making it a mandate given the uncertain legal status of the government’s vaccine rules. We will comply with legal requirements when the issue is resolved. “
The Fuyao Glass Plant in Moraine Ohio employs more than 2,000 workers.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
The Fuyao Glass Plant in Moraine Ohio employs more than 2,000 workers.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
The Biden administration in November proposed a pair of rules that together covered more than 100 million American workers. And the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services required 76,000 healthcare facilities that accept Medicare or Medicare payments to ensure their 17 million employees were immunized.
John Ho, labor and employment attorney and OSHA chairman at Philadelphia law firm Cozen O’Connor, said one concrete step large employers can take now – if they don’t have not yet done – is to collect information on the immunization status of their workers. Find out who among your workers is vaccinated and who is not, he advises.
Such a decision demonstrates “good faith” attention to the issue if an OSHA inspector were to call, Ho said.
“Start this process, if you haven’t already,” Ho said in an interview. “Start the record keeping process to simply put together your list of immunization statuses. Because if this thing is backed up, at least you will know it.
Encourage employees to get vaccinated
Mary Ann Kabel, spokesperson for AES Ohio, said her company “continues to encourage and inspire our employees to get fully immunized for their safety, their families and their communities.”
She did not respond to a question about the incentives offered by the electric utility to its employees.
Wright State University spokesperson Seth Baugess said the university was on “standstill” on its mandate to vaccinate employees. All Wright State employees must be fully immunized and upload an image of their federal immunization card, or obtain a university-approved medical or religious exemption, by Tuesday.
“I know that, throughout the pandemic, Wright State has enjoyed a high rate of compliance with our campus security protocols and this has resulted in very little spread of COVID on campus,” Baugess said.
All Wright State employees must be fully immunized and upload an image of their federal immunization card, or obtain a university-approved medical or religious exemption, by Tuesday. JIM NOELKER / STAFF
Credit: Jim Noelker
All Wright State employees must be fully immunized and upload an image of their federal immunization card, or obtain a university-approved medical or religious exemption, by Tuesday. JIM NOELKER / STAFF
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
A spokesperson for the University of Dayton declined to comment beyond referring to a message the university sent to faculty, staff and students on December 3.
The University of Dayton will continue to encourage all employees and students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but, due to a Federal Court ruling, will halt efforts to require that employees be vaccinated or exempted for medical or religious reasons, ”UD said. in this message.
“Thanks to your efforts and the federal immunization mandate, we have achieved a high immunization rate,” UD added. “This helped reduce the spread of the virus on campus and allowed education and in-person research to continue throughout the semester without major disruption.”
As of Dec. 1, 96% of all DU employees had complied with the federal contractor’s mandate to be fully vaccinated or exempted, the university also said in the post.
A spokesperson for GE Aviation said the company would not be giving any interviews on the matter.
“GE has suspended the implementation of the executive decree (of the Biden administration) in accordance with the preliminary national injunction,” the company said in a brief response to questions from that newspaper.
A spokesperson for Emerson’s headquarters in St. Louis said Emerson has organized vaccination clinics for its employees and encouraged its U.S. employees to get fully immunized to protect their health and safety and that of their families, of our customers and visitors.
A spokesperson for Emerson declined to say how many employees the company has in Sidney and Dayton. But he said the company continues to monitor pending litigation.
Confidence in the mandate
The White House has expressed confidence that its mandates will prevail.
“Especially since the United States is faced with the highly transmissible variant of Omicron, it is essential to protect workers with vaccination requirements and testing protocols that are urgently needed,” the House said. Blanche in a statement on December 22. “At a critical time for the health of the nation, the OSHA vaccination or testing rule ensures that employers protect their employees and the CMS health care vaccination requirement ensures that providers protect their patients. .
Ho said clarity on the issue is needed.
“It’s good to see the Supreme Court move in a somewhat fast-paced fashion,” he said. “Who knows what the court will do? But hopefully there will be some advice one way or the other.
Unparalleled coverage
The Dayton Daily News has covered the legality of requiring workers’ vaccines for the past year. Count on us for continued coverage on the subject when the Supreme Court hears oral argument on Friday.
