Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters), – The U.S. government said on Saturday it might issue citations for companies if they fail to adhere to a national mandate that their employees either vaccinate regularly or test frequently for COVID-19. A U.S. Supreme Court fight over this policy is looming.

This announcement was made one day after the U.S. appeals court restored Biden’s administration policy, which requires large companies to ensure that employees have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit to weekly testing.

A November court blocked OSHA’s rules. This legal battle will continue at the Supreme Court.

OSHA announced that they would not be citing companies for violating the rule after Jan. 10. This was to give employers enough time to get into compliance. OSHA said that COVID-19-related citations would not start before February 9.

OSHA rules apply to companies with less than 100 employees. It also covers American workers in excess of 80 million.

This rule has caused a substantial backlash in Republican-leaning States. Republicans want to use the frustration of COVID-19 safety rules to become a major theme of political campaigns in advance of the November 2022 congressional election, which will determine whether Republicans are able to take control of Congress.

Joe Biden, President of the United States has stated that the vaccine mandate was essential to combat the pandemic which has already claimed more than 750,000 lives and has had a negative impact on the economy.

A spokesperson for the White House said that Biden would announce on Tuesday new measures to combat the pandemic.

The debate coincides with public health officials bracing for a “tidal wave” https://www.reuters.com/world/us/tidal-wave-omicron-could-put-us-covid-19-surge-into-overdrive-2021-12-17 of coronavirus infections in the United States as the more transmissible Omicron variant spreads rapidly worldwide.