COVID-19

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October 26, 2021

Biden's vaccine mandate for workers is supported by legal precedents, experts say

On September 9, US President Joe Biden announced a plan to require all private businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure that their workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or get tested weekly. The mandate will be implemented through an Emergency Temporary Standard to be issued by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Experts predict legal challenges to be launched, but they say OSHA has the authority to protect workers' safety by requiring vaccinations, Bloomberg reports. The 1905 Supreme Court decision in Jacobson v. Massachusetts has also been widely cited, in which the court upheld the Cambridge, Massachusetts Board of Health’s authority to require vaccination against smallpox during an epidemic.

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