, which is being implemented on an emergency basis by the Department of Labor, is one of the White House’s most strenuous attempts to increase vaccination rates across the country to address the lingering public health crisis. The policy is already being contested by Republicans and the small but vocal anti-vaccine factions that have proved so disruptive politically over the past year.It would require weekly testing and mandatory face-masking for workers who choose not to get vaccinated.
But many Republicans have asserted that vaccine requirements are an unfair government edict, and a number of GOP governors and attorneys general have promised to challenge the ruling in court.
Because of the testing option, the new White House ruling does not constitute a strict vaccine mandate. In fact, it is softer than many of the policies instituted by many private companies as well as state governments that have required vaccinations for employees. Still, the new federal ruling is expected to give companies that had hoped to institute more stringent mandates, but backed off for fear of employee opposition, more political cover to do so.