CNN Interviews Mini Kapoor: ‘Who Will Pay For Testing Under Biden's New Vaccine Mandate For Businesses?'

Haynes Boone Associate Mini Kapoor talked with CNN about the costs to employers to implement U.S. President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

Below is an excerpt of the article:

According to the guidance released Thursday from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), employers with at least 100 employees must offer workers up to four hours of paid time during business hours to get the vaccine and paid time off to recover from the effects of the shots if needed.

The rules allow private-sector employers covered under the rule to offer their staff the alternative of getting tested weekly if they choose not to get vaccinated. But employers are not obligated to offer that option. If they don't, unvaccinated workers would be fired, unless they were exempt from the vaccine requirement for religious or medical reasons.

OSHA estimates that, in aggregate, complying with the mandate rules will cost employers close to $3 billion. But, as the American Action Forum notes, that only reflects aggregate costs over the six-month period that OSHA's Emergency Temporary Standard remains in effect. And it does not include testing costs employers would incur in various states should they offer their workforce that option.

Due to the additional costs and effort to set up a testing regimen in a short time, the benefit of simplicity, speed and lower costs may win the day for some employers, said Mini Kapoor, an associate at the law firm Haynes Boone.

"My view is a lot of employers will go toward [only] mandating the vaccination."

To read the full article, click here.