Vaccine mandates put employers in limbo

In a worldwide pandemic, the impact is universal. Lives are lost; families are shattered; governments topple; economies lay in ruins. But on a less cosmic level and one that focuses on the concerns of the readers of Federal Employment Law Insider, it is hard to find a more set-upon group than employers.

The collapse of the American consumer economy puts thousands of businesses on the ropes. Many have not survived; owners and workers shared a common fate. The businesses that have made it—by dint of strength, courage, and maybe a PPP loan—have faced and are continuing to face countless challenges. Throughout the pandemic, somehow or the other, businesses have become the frontline in the vaccine and mask "wars." Daily accounts persist of clerks and receptionists, foremen, and owners being accosted, accused, berated, and even attacked for doing little more than following rules—local and national—not of their own making.

With the recent announcement of vaccine mandates from the federal government covering as many as 80 million workers, there is hope employers will gain some respite, but ambiguities, questions, and outright resistance threaten to keep employers in the middle of the conflicts.