Status: 04.11.2021 5:47 p.m.
From January, extensive vaccination and testing requirements will apply to employees in the USA. The employers then also bear responsibility – if the new regulations are violated, the companies face severe penalties.
In the fight against the corona pandemic, millions of employees in the USA will soon be subject to extensive vaccination or testing requirements. Starting January 4, many employers will have to require their employees to have either a full vaccination against the coronavirus or weekly negative tests. “This regulation affects 84 million workers,” said a government official. The new requirements should apply to companies with more than 100 employees.
High penalties for violations
Companies that do not meet the requirements must pay a fine, according to government information. The sum could vary between around $ 14,000 and more than $ 136,000 – depending on the severity or number of violations. However, the authorities did not require companies to offer or pay for corona tests because vaccines are safe and free, it said.
The vaccination or testing requirements also apply to healthcare workers whose facilities receive federal funding from Medicare and Medicaid public health insurers. “The regulation applies to around 76,000 health facilities and more than 17 million health care workers,” it said. The US government had also announced this measure weeks ago.
“We have to take action”
“The virus will not go away by itself, or because we want it away: we have to act,” said Biden. Vaccination requirements and safety regulations in the workplace are also nothing new. “We require protective helmets on construction sites and protective goggles in laboratories.”
The US vaccination campaign is making slow progress. So far, a good 58 percent of the population of around 330 million people have finally been vaccinated.