NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka says New Jersey businesses are relieved the U.S. Supreme Court has blocked enforcement of a federal COVID-19 vaccinate-or-test mandate that would have made it even more difficult to attract and retain employees during the ongoing workforce crisis.
The U.S. Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) rule would have required employers with 100 or more workers companywide to make sure their employees had been vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing for the virus. In a 6-3 decision on Thursday, the justices issued a stay on enforcement, saying the coalition of business groups and states challenging the rule were likely to prevail in their argument that OSHA had overstepped its legal authority.
In an interview with NJ101.5 radio’s David Matthau, Siekerka said the Supreme Court’s action was a relief to the New Jersey business community.
“In a time like right now when we have an unprecedented hiring and retention crisis going on that type of a mandate would have caused even more challenges for New Jersey businesses to attract and retain their workforce,” Siekerka said. “And we were very concerned about compliance and the penalties that were attached to this as well.”
