“While I would have much preferred that requirements not become necessary, too many people remain unvaccinated for us to get out of this pandemic for good,” Biden said in a statement on Nov. There are approximately 60 million unvaccinated adults in this country. OSHA said companies that fail to comply with the regulations could face penalties of nearly $14,000 per violation.
The new requirements, first hinted in September, could apply to about 84 million workers at medium and large businesses.
That would significantly worsen the current driver shortage – now estimated at 80,000 due to retirements, perceived poor pay and other factors.
ATA said “all indications’ from the Department of Labor suggest this exemption does apply to the commercial truck driver population.ĪTA estimates that the industry could lose up to 37% of its drivers under the ETS mandates. The rule exempts employees who exclusively work outdoors or remotely and have minimal contact with others indoors.
Trucking wants an exemption because most truckers work in non-office settings, mostly outdoors. The mandate covers two-thirds of the nation’s workforce. But at the same time it believes it has an exemption from the vaccine mandate.
“A stay pending full review is essential to ensure our members can continue to keep the supply chain moving without the enormous disruptions this unlawful ETS will cause the trucking industry and our nation’s consumers-including the 80% percent of American communities that depend exclusively on trucks for their needs,” Geale added.Įarlier, the ATA told the Biden administration that trucking has “grave concern” that the COVID-19 vaccine mandate will damage the industry and the nation. “We are asking the court to stay implementation of the mandate because we believe the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) did not satisfy the statutory requirements for issuing this Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) instead of going through the proper rulemaking process,” said Nicholas Geale, ATA vice president of workforce policy. That is the same circuit court that has preliminarily stayed the mandate pending a full review.ĪTA was joined in the suit by the Food Marketing Institute, the International Warehouse Logistics Association, the National Association of Convenience Stores, the National Retail Federation, the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and the National Federation of Independent Business. “So we are now, regrettably, forced to seek to have this mandate overturned in court.”ĪTA and its state partners filed their challenge in the U.S. “They have, unfortunately, chosen to move forward despite those warnings,” he said.
“This standard arbitrarily picks winners and losers, and puts employers in an untenable position of forcing workers to choose between working and their private medical decisions, which is something that cannot be allowed.”ĪTA says it told the administration that this mandate, given the nature of the industry and makeup of trucking’s workforce, could have “devastating impacts” on the supply chain and the economy. “But we believe that the Biden administration has overstepped its statutory authority in issuing this Emergency Temporary Standard,” Spear said. They hauled personal protective equipment, test kits, the vaccine itself and much more as the country locked down. Spear noted trucks and drivers have been on the front line fighting this pandemic since its beginning two years ago. “To be very clear, ATA and its member companies support efforts to encourage all Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said in a statement. The American Trucking Associations (ATA), along with the Louisiana Motor Truck Association, the Mississippi Trucking Association and the Texas Trucking Association, joined other business groups representing various facets of the supply chain in suing the Biden administration over its employer-based COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The trucking industry is suing over President Joe Biden’s vaccine policy that requires private sector employers with over 100 employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.