The vaccine mandate may not apply to the Uber driver or Big Mac server

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In addition to these 80 million workers, there are another 43 million employees working in companies that employ less than 100 people and are not covered by this federal mandate.

For example, most fast food restaurants are independently owned franchises, not business owned locations. Thus, while some franchisees have multiple stores with many employees, many have a single restaurant with a staff that exempts them from the norm.

Approximately 95% of McDonald’s (MCD) about 14,000 U.S. locations are owned by a franchise operator, not the company itself, so there’s a very good chance that the employee serving you on Big Mac or Quarter Pounder won’t be required to obtain make a vaccine or do a Covid test to go to work.

These companies could require their franchise operators to have their employees comply with the same rules that apply to larger companies. but that’s unlikely, said Brian Kropp, head of human resources practice research at consulting firm Gartner.

‘The war for talent’

With a record number of job offers and not enough job seekers to fill them, “the war for talent is intense right now,” Kropp said. “If McDonald’s does [require vaccinations] and Wendy’s no, employees who don’t want to get vaccinated will walk out the door to go to Wendy’s. “
Many other large companies hire independent contractors, rather than employees, to interact with the public, including Uber (UBER), Lift (LIFT) and other major delivery services such as DoorDash and Instacart.
In addition to the need to catch workers, these companies have a more important problem at stake: imposing a vaccine warrant on drivers can complicate Kropp said future legal battles over whether employees should be considered instead of independent contractors.

“If the warrant applies to them, in future legal cases drivers are more likely to say,‘ They treat us the same way they do employees, ’” Kropp said.

Most companies that hired franchisees or independent contractors did not answer questions about their plans when they were contacted to get this news. DoorDash, however, said so no ask delivery drivers to comply with vaccination rules because of their status as independent contractors.

“We are encouraging all members of DoorDash’s wider community to get vaccinated,” the company said, adding that it requires its delivery drivers to wear masks when interacting with the public.

Can vaccines be good for business?

Many larger companies are happy to see the new vaccine and testing mandates because they believe a widely vaccinated workforce could lead to more equitable playing conditions.

“They’ve done the calculations and found that vaccines mean less absenteeism and lower care costs,” Kropp said.

Delta Air Lines (DE) he said last month that each employee hospitalized with Covid cost the company about $ 50,000.

For major entrepreneurs competing for talent with other large companies, the new rules are a big plus, Kropp said.

Here’s who loves Biden’s vaccine mandate: the companies that have to implement it
“Walmart (WMT) now you don’t have to worry about losing workers Goal (TGT), “He said.

Small business owners, however, have not been able to accept mandates from their employees because they often compete to work with companies of similar size.

A survey of 533 small businesses conducted by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, a trade group that mainly represents companies with less than 100 employees, found that only 3% had some form of vaccine mandate and that 14% ” I was considering it. ” The survey was conducted during the first six days of September, just before the federal standard was announced.

“Their ability to retain and hire workers is an important factor in imposing a vaccine mandate,” said Holly Wade, executive director of the NFIB Research Center.

At the same time, small businesses need to do it worry about absenteeism if Covid’s cases start to spread across its workforce, in addition to health care costs for about a third of small business owners who offer health coverage.

While a major airline like Delta could pay a $ 50,000 hospital bill when an employee is hospitalized, small businesses have tough pressures. to cover these costs.

“Any huge medical event for one of your employees can increase your premiums astronomically,” Wade said. “We always know how to talk about small business owners.”

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