Bryan Prepared to Enforce Biden Mandate Calling For Vaccination or Weekly Testing for Employers With 100 Employees or More, Administration Says

Governor Albert Bryan is prepared to enforce portions of a recently announced President Joe Biden mandate that calls for private employers with 100 or more employees to require workers to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing. The mandate also requires federal employees in the executive branch and federal government contractors to be vaccinated.

The Bryan administration during its weekly Covid-19 press briefing Monday showed on a slide presentation that read, "Governor Bryan is prepared to enforce the federal mandates passed down by President Biden as they apply here in the territory, and continue to urge Virgin Islanders to take advantage of the availability of vaccines."

The mandate's rules are being developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Along with the mandatory vaccination or weekly testing for employees with over 100 employees, the rules require that these employers provide paid time off for employees to get vaccinated, or for those who have been impacted by the disease to recover. There is no current mandate requiring employers to pay employees for the time it takes to get tested weekly, nor has the mandate made clear who will pay for the tests. OSHA has said it will issue formal rules in the coming weeks. According to the Wall Street Journal, companies are also wondering exactly how OSHA will determine the threshold for which businesses are covered by the requirement, and about exemptions for employees who continue to work from home or who have religious or medical accommodations that are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

How the mandate is applied will vary state by state, and some states — most notably Florida — have challenged many of the federal government's Covid-19 mandates.