The Missouri Chamber of Commerce & Industry sent official public commentary to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) opposing its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
OSHA is requiring employers with a minimum of 100 employees to develop, implement and enforce a COVID-19 vaccination policy. Company owners have the option to allow unvaccinated employees to undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering while on the job.
“We're just hoping to make our voice known that we have serious concerns with this Emergency Temporary Standard and we hope that there is no expansion of it,” said Kara Corches, vice president of governmental affairs with the Missouri Chamber.
“On the federal register website, it mentions that OSHA is actually considering even expanding this new vaccination and testing mandate to employers with under 100 employees and so clearly we already oppose this mandate very strongly. We don't want to see it expanded even further because it's already quite overreaching.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has since issued a temporary stay on the federal vaccination policy for private-sector employers.
"Overall, this is already a time when employers have shouldered a huge burden during the pandemic, whether that is economic loss or workforce shortages," Corches told the St. Louis Record. "We don't need to add another burden to their shoulders right now and that burden includes the compliance and paperwork that the mandate requires."
In a letter dated Nov. 5 addressed to OSHA in Washington, D.C., Missouri Chamber CEO Daniel Mehan stated, “The Missouri Chamber of Commerce & Industry believes the enactment and implementation of OSHA's emergency temporary standard COVID-19 vaccination and testing is the wrong approach for business. Each workplace is unique and employers have long held the right to establish vaccine policies that work for their businesses. The Missouri Chamber believes all employers should continue to have this right when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine and testing 80% of businesses across Missouri, believe they should have the freedom to make their decisions on this matter.”
Corches added that the labor market is presently experiencing record workforce shortages.
“It's a slippery slope and the OSHA rule is having a real chilling effect on the business community,” she said. “If this mandate goes through, what's next? We've always maintained the right that businesses get to make their decisions on how they operate. This is taking away that authority, which is extremely concerning.”
The Missouri Chamber is encouraging businesses to speak out about the mandate by filing their own public comments with OSHA at this link.
“We are calling on the Missouri business community to unite against this reckless mandate," Mehan said. "This action by OSHA and the Biden administration is an unprecedented abuse of power — and we believe an overreach of their authority. While the courts have already paused the mandate, it is still critical that employers speak up and help bring this effort to a full stop."