Self Mandate
Not quite a week ago, President Biden announced he would require businesses with 100 or more employees to require their workers to be vaccinated in an effort to fight COVID-19. Some took that to mean such an order was immediately in effect.
But not quite. Presidents can’t just declare those things. Instead, he directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration–OSHA–to establish such a rule through the normal rule-making process. Nothing wrong with that; in fact, when President Trump wanted to suspend collection of payroll tax, he announced the move from the podium–but it required the Treasury Secretary to establish a rule to that effect, so it’s no different here.
Since OSHA is a federal agency, it has to go through a formal rule-making process before anything can be done…and that typically takes a period of months. And in fact, by the time the rule is approved, it may no longer be needed and may never actually go into effect.
But many businesses heard the headline of the president’s declaration, and figure they may as well put a mandate in place since it’s coming down the pike. Many workers may figure they have no option, so they’ll get jabbed.
Again, no requirement from the government, but people themselves may put a ‘mandate’ in place…thereby effecting the change Biden wants, without an actual rule–or legal challenge, which could derail any government mandate.
We self-censor a lot…we can say something, but we opt not to, just to go along. Similarly here, there’s no mandate but many are going to act like there’s one…and that suits the administration just fine.
So as I’ve said all along…get the shot, don’t get the shot…it’s a medical decision and up to you and your doctor. If a business wants to impose a mandate and risk a court challenge, that’s their right, too. But for government to impose its will in this way is wrong and sets a bad precedent…which the Biden folks know, and that’s why they’ve undertaken the strategy they have. If you do it, they don’t have to…and that alone sets an equally bad precedent.
