Federal Workers Face Discipline For Being Unvaxxed, Refusing Tests

The Washington Post: Unvaccinated Federal Employees Face Discipline For Refusing Testing At Workplace 
Federal employees who are not fully vaccinated will face discipline if they refuse to be tested for the coronavirus when reporting to work in person, the Biden administration warned on Wednesday. The latest guidance from an interagency task force says agencies will have discretion regarding how to administer those tests, including in-house, at another agency or through a contractor. Testing will apply only to employees who are not fully vaccinated and who are working on-site, will be done during working hours, and will be at the agency’s expense. (Yoder, 8/19)

The Boston Globe: As Federal Worker Guidance Gets Stricter, Labor Advocates Denounce Repealed Mass. Protections
With federal workplace safety guidelines now calling for fully vaccinated workers to wear masks in areas with elevated risks of COVID-19 transmission, which currently includes every county in Massachusetts, labor advocates are doubling down on their criticism of the state’s expiring workplace regulations. Massachusetts rules on masking, distancing, and sanitization in the workplace haven’t been enforced since late May and are set to be officially repealed in the coming weeks, despite new guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that masks should be worn in public indoor spaces in areas of high or substantial transmission, regardless of vaccination status. (Johnston, 8/19)

On mandates in companies, and in health care —

The Washington Post: Companies With Vaccine Mandates Turn To Tech To Verify Employees’ Vaccination Status 
As vaccine mandates become the norm for workers to return to offices, a complicated challenge is emerging for employers: how best to verify vaccination records. A growing number of companies, from Facebook to Google and Salesforce, have implemented employee vaccine mandates for the office amid the spread of the delta variant in recent weeks. Vaccine mandates aren’t solely hitting office workers. Meat processor Tyson Foods, United Airlines, and state governments including New York and California are all requiring their workers to get inoculated. (Abril, 8/19)

Louisville Courier Journal: Humana: Some Workers Must Get COVID Vaccine, Pending FDA Approval
Humana announced Thursday it will require COVID-19 vaccines for any associate who works outside their home on Humana's behalf and some select contractors. "As infection rates of COVID-19 and its variants rise, we have a responsibility once again to be part of the solution – and we must take it," the Humana Management Team wrote in an announcement to staff. Humana, one of Louisville's largest employers with 12,000 employees, had postponed a return to its offices earlier this month, extending the reopening date to Oct. 18, The Courier Journal reported. (Goodman, 8/19)

KHN: Biden’s No-Jab-No-Job Order Creates Quandary For Nursing Homes
President Joe Biden’s edict that nursing homes must ensure their workers are vaccinated against covid-19 presents a challenge for an industry struggling to entice its lowest-paid workers to get shots without driving them to seek employment elsewhere. Although 83% of residents in the average nursing facility are vaccinated, only 61% of a home’s workers are likely to be, according to data submitted by homes and published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as of the week ending Aug. 8. More than 602,000 staff members have contracted covid and more than 2,000 have died from it. (Rau and Miller, 8/20)

In news on masking, vaccine rules affecting restaurants —

AP: Vaccine Checks Beginning At San Francisco Eateries, Bars
Anyone who wants to eat, drink or exercise indoors in San Francisco must show they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 when one of the nation’s most stringent restrictions on unvaccinated people takes effect. Restaurant and bar owners said they’ve contacted people who reserved tables to remind them of the new rule that begins Friday, and planned to have extra staff at the front door to verify people’s proof of vaccination and make sure they match their identity cards. (Nguyen, 8/20)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Caught Between Anger, Gratitude: New Orleans Restaurants Brace For COVID Vaccine Enforcement
It’s only been a few days since the city’s vaccination mandate took effect, but at the Beachcorner Bar & Grill on Canal Street they have felt like very long days. “You just don’t know what you’re going to get from one person to the next walking in,” said Gina Scala Perret, third-generation owner of the tavern, best known for its burgers. “One group is all ready to show you their (vaccination) cards and they’re great, then the next guy walks in and is screaming in your face about it.” (McNulty, 8/20)

On mandates around the country —

San Francisco Chronicle: California Not Likely To Update Workplace Pandemic Standards Until December
With on-the-job outbreaks of the coronavirus on the rise across California, state workplace safety regulators once again find themselves racing to update rules on vaccines, masking and a host of other virus prevention measures. During a meeting of the Cal/OSHA Standards Board Thursday, members said the soonest they are likely to vote on new rules potentially designed to tamp down outbreaks is December, after the surge in cases driven by the highly infectious delta variant are expected to spike. (DiFeliciantonio, 8/19)

WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta: Gov. Kemp Says Georgia Businesses Will Not Be Forced To Adhere To Mask, Vaccine Mandates
Gov. Brian Kemp issued a new executive order that will keep businesses from being forced to adhere to mask or vaccine mandates put in place by local jurisdictions. In a news conference at the Capitol, Kemp said that businesses can comply with local ordinances if they want to, but they will not be enforced. The executive order also makes it so that local governments can’t put capacity limits on businesses. (8/19)

Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City Mayor Enacts Mask Mandate, Declares Civil Emergency
Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague declared a civil emergency and ordered a mask mandate Thursday evening due to the rising number of cases of COVID-19 and the highly contagious delta variant. A spokesperson for Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called the mandate “against the law” and “not enforceable.” "While our path is uncertain and much is unknown we do have the tools to reduce the risk to ourselves and each other," Teague said. "We just have to use them." The order goes into effect Thursday, today, at 11:59 p.m. and will expire Sept. 30, unless he decides to extend it. Teague issued a similar order in July last year. (Ojeda, 8/19)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: No Deal On St. Louis County Mask Mandate; Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction 
St. Louis County for now has no authority to impose a mask mandate that officials there already rescinded, and have no intention of enforcing anyway, a judge ruled Thursday. Circuit Judge Ellen “Nellie” Ribaudo issued a preliminary injunction Thursday within an hour of a virtual court hearing at which lawyers on both sides of the county’s July 26 mask order reported they could not reach a compromise. Twice this week, the judge had ordered them to negotiate for the sake of public health. (Currier and Benchaabane, 8/19)