The $ 2 trillion consumer packaging industry has questions about President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine order.
The trade group representing consumer goods giants such as Coca-Cola, Kellogg and General Mills sent a letter to the White House on Monday calling for “immediate clarity” on the details of the order, which requires companies to 100 o more employees ordering the vaccine or doing weekly tests.
In the letter, Consumer Brands Association CEO Geoff Freeman called on the administration and relevant federal agencies to “move quickly, anticipate challenges, respond quickly to questions, and work with the private sector. . [to] to achieve our shared goal of increasing vaccination rates ”.
“Strong and consistent collaboration between the private and public sectors in implementation will accelerate progress on our shared goal,” he added.
The letter includes a laundry list of 19 questions with vignettes, including, “What is considered documentation to prove vaccination and how will booster doses be taken into account?”
“How does this mandate affect placements with collective agreements?” reads another question, along with, “Will waivers be allowed if the absences or wear and tear of essential employees cause significant disruptions to the CPG supply chain?”
The letter comes after the White House last week unveiled its new COVID-19 action plan, which said the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is working on an emergency rule that will call for to companies with 100 or more employees mandating the vaccine or deploying a weekly testing regimen.
Administration officials have said companies that violate the rule could face a $ 14,000 penalty for infringement.
But in a statement released after the administration’s announcement last week, Freeman of the Consumer Trademark Association noted that official government guidelines during the pandemic have been delayed months behind previous announcements.
“As with other mandates, the devil is in the details,” Freeman said in a statement last week. “Without additional clarifications for the business community, employee concerns and questions will multiply.”
Freeman said his group has received 50 “unique questions” about the vaccine order, but here are the 19 his group sent to Biden on Monday:
Vaccines
- What is considered documentation to check for vaccination and how will booster doses be considered to meet them?
- Does an employee have to be completely vaccinated to be able to work?
- How will natural immunity requirements be addressed? Will people who have contracted COVID-19 be required to be vaccinated or subjected to testing requirements?
- Will the requirements only apply to vaccines that are fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration?
- Does the government plan to centralize vaccination monitoring or is it the responsibility of companies to manage it?
- What are the consequences of falsifying the vaccination status and the responsibility lies with the individual or the employer?
Tests
- Is there a single test standard that must be met that is considered to meet the negative test result requirement?
- What is considered adequate documentation of a negative test result?
- What are the consequences of falsifying the test results and the responsibility lies with the individual or the employer?
- How long will it be necessary to keep the documentation of the test results?
- If an employee takes a COVID-19 test but the results are not yet available, can they continue to work pending the results?
- Do business testing programs that test all employees on-site during the day meet the requirements for the need to test unvaccinated workers before they come to work?
- Employees should choose not to vaccinate, is the company or employee responsible for ensuring and paying for the tests? Will paid time be allowed for weekly testing requirements?
Operational
- When will the requirements be formally issued and what is the timetable for compliance?
- How does this mandate affect locations with collective agreements?
- Will this federal requirement prevent existing obligations imposed by the state?
- Will federal requirements replace state spending refund statutes?
- Do the new federal requirements include exemptions based on religious beliefs and disabilities?
- Will waivers be allowed if the absences or wear and tear of essential employees cause a significant disruption to the CPG supply chain?