Time is running out for many companies to implement new federal COVID-19 vaccination requirements for employees. The rules from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were approved in the fall and are set to take effect next week, requiring workers at companies with 100 or more employees to be vaccinated or get tested for COVID every week . But questions over the legality of the rules is causing confusion for some companies — especially ahead of the Supreme Court taking up the case later this week.
“Usually the court cases in front of the Supreme Court take months to resolve. It is, in theory, possible that they could issue some sort of an emergency order to put them on hold. I think that's thought of as unlikely. So what this is really causing is it's causing a lot of companies to sort of have to figure out, ‘What are the rules?,’” The Charlotte Ledger’s Tony Mecia told WFAE’s Marshall Terry on this week’s BizWorthy.
And some employers are worried about fines that could run as much as $14,000 per violation, Mecia said.
“Companies, typically want to follow the law, but they just really want to know what the law is," Mecia said. "And they like to have time to plan for it. And so I've talked to a few of them this week and they're scrambling a little bit to try to make sure that that they're following the law and they're not really hit with some big fines from OSHA.”
You can listen to the full BizWorthy conversation above. Here’s a quick look at what else Terry and Mecia covered this week.
- North Carolina was a top destination for people relocating during the pandemic.
- Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC owner David Tepper bought more than 4 acres of land near Bank of America Stadium. City Council, meanwhile, approved land in the area for rezoning of 55 acres nearby off Morehead Street.
- Unseasonably high temperatures rounding out 2021 put a strain on ski resorts in North Carolina’s mountains. They’re trying to get back on track.
