Employee Vaccination Policies: New NFIB Research and NFIB Objections to Biden Plan for Businesses with 100+ Employees

Date: September 16, 2021

New NFIB research asks owners about employee vaccination policies and NFIB objects to President Biden’s vaccine mandate plan for businesses with 100 or more employees

This week in a letter to the head of the U.S. Labor Department, NFIB objected to President Biden’s plan to require all companies with 100 or more employees to get their employees vaccinated, tested, or fired. The letter can be found here and excerpts are below:

“On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced in a speech on COVID-19 that the Department of Labor is developing an emergency rule to require all employers with 100 or more employees, that together employ over 80 million workers, to ensure their workforces are fully vaccinated or show a negative test at least once a week.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) objects strongly to the federal government’s commandeering of America’s small and independent businesses to serve as the government’s instruments of coercion against their own employees.

The Biden Administration in essence threatens America’s small and independent business owners with large fines, and even imprisonment for up to six months, unless the business gets its employees vaccinated, tested, or fired. If the Administration wants to command 80 million Americans, who do not wish to get vaccinated, to get vaccinated or tested weekly, the President should ask Congress to enact legislation issuing that command. Then the American people could hold the President, Senators, and Representatives accountable at the ballot box for how they voted on such legislation. That is the democratic way.

Small businesses and their employees, like all Americans, look forward to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government regulation associated with the pandemic. NFIB recognizes the duty of governments to help protect the safety and health of the people, but NFIB also recognizes the duty of governments to help preserve the liberties of the people, even in difficult situations. NFIB expects the government to do its best to help keep America both healthy and free.”

September 2021 Small Business Vaccination Policy Survey Responses

Small business owners were asked about employee vaccination policies in the NFIB Research Center’s latest COVID-19 survey regarding the pandemic’s impact on small businesses. In that survey, conducted Sept. 1-5, 2021, about one-quarter (26%) of owners report they are asking employees if they are vaccinated, up from 19% two months ago. When asked about mandating employee vaccination, 83% of small employers have no requirement or have not considered requiring employee vaccination. Fourteen percent of owners have considered mandating vaccination and 3% require employee vaccination. See more findings from this COVID-19 Small Business survey here.

 

Subscribe For Free News And Tips

Enter your email to get FREE small business insights. Learn more

Get to know NFIB

NFIB is a member-driven organization advocating on behalf of small and independent businesses nationwide.

Learn More

Or call us today
1-800-634-2669

© 2001 - 2024 National Federation of Independent Business. All Rights Reserved. Terms and Conditions | Privacy