Administration confident in legal standing

The administration said it was on strong legal grounds with the rule for private companies, which an official noted is not technically a vaccine mandate, as businesses can also choose to make regular testing and mask-wearing an option.

The mandate, which applies to businesses with at least 100 employees and is expected to cover 84 million people, was developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Test or vaccinate: Under the rule, employers will need to develop, implement and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy unless they require unvaccinated employees to test once a week and wear a face covering at work.

It also requires employers to provide paid time off to workers to get vaccinated and recover from any side effects from the vaccine.

OSHA will have programmed or planned inspections, where agents go into workplaces to check that the workplace is in compliance with the rule. For what OSHA refers to as willful violations, a company can be fined $136,532.

The standard penalty is $13,653 for a single violation, and the number would increase if there are multiple violations in a workplace.