IDAHO FALLS – President Joe Biden’s new national COVID-19 vaccine mandates will mean changes for some employees in eastern Idaho.
The Biden order requires vaccines for all companies that employ more than 100 workers. Alternatively, workers may show a negative COVID-19 test result at least once a week. Federal employees and their contractors will not have the option to be tested. Based on an executive order, these employees will need to be vaccinated or be losing their jobs.
RELATED | The new rule requires all employers with more than 100 workers to need weekly vaccinations or tests
The biggest impact in eastern Idaho will likely be noticed at the Idaho National Laboratory, which employs thousands of federal workers and contractors.
“According to the administration’s executive order of Sept. 9, effective Nov. 19, the Idaho National Laboratory will require all staff and many of its subcontractors to be fully vaccinated against COVID- 19 “said INL Director John Wagner. “This decision reflects our basic value of security. It reflects our desire to protect vulnerable populations. As a leader in the state of Idaho and a national laboratory that changes the world through great science, it reflects our desire to use the best available scientific data to protect our staff and accomplish our missions. “
The Idaho National Laboratory employs about 5,200 people. INL spokeswoman Sarah Neumann said 69% of employees are already vaccinated against COVID-19.
Not everyone in the lab was satisfied with this stance. A large number of INL employees and their hired workers gathered Thursday night at Community Park in Idaho Falls to sign a petition against the new mandate.
“There are multiple reasons for not wanting to get the vaccine, they are all legitimate,” said Nicholas Christiansen, an INL employee who organized the petition. “There are several reasons to get the vaccine and they are all legitimate. What comes down is that no one has the right to tell you what to put on your body and that should never be a working condition.”
By Monday afternoon, the petition had gathered about 385 signatures and Christiansen said more were arriving by the hour.
“We recognize the executive order and the constraints facing BEA and INL for this,” Christensen said. “We believe that these mandates are unconstitutional and involve excessive scope by the government’s executive branch. We call on the INL leadership to delay the implementation of the executive order until the federal judge reviews it for constitutionality and commits to employees in productive forums to find alternatives to vaccination “.
Not only does the Idaho National Laboratory face mandatory vaccinations. For private companies employing more than 100 workers, Biden said the mandates will come through the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. It is not yet entirely clear what OSHA’s ramifications will be, but The National Law Review reports that officials could be fined $ 13,653 for an offense, the maximum set by law.
EastIdahoNews.com contacted several local employers with more than 100 employees, but none sent any feedback requests.
Biden directives also said that if hospitals want to treat Medicare and Medicaid patients, all health care workers at the facility must be vaccinated. Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Coleen Niemann said the hospital does not currently require vaccinating employees, but is very encouraged. Niemann said she was not sure how Biden’s order would affect hospital policy.
OSHA’s jurisdiction does not extend to Idaho and local government employees unlike 22 states with OSHA-approved state plans.
Idaho Falls City spokesman Bud Cranor said the city is evaluating what President Biden’s announcement means to city employees. Cranor said city attorneys are reviewing the matter and seeking guidance from the Idaho state government.
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Gov. Brad Little has been outspoken against Biden’s executive orders and warrants. Little said he believes the government should stay away from decisions involving employers and employees as much as possible.
“The state of Idaho is exploring legal action to stop President Biden’s overgovernment in the private sector with its new COVID-19 plan,” Little said in a press release. “I am working closely with my attorney and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden on legal options to protect the rights of employers and their employees.”
A spokesman for Wasden’s office declined to comment Monday.
RELATED | Idaho enacts crisis hospital care standards amid rising COVID
Although Idaho has opposed vaccines and other COVID-19 measures since the start of the pandemic, the population has not been immune to the virus. The Associated Press reported last week that “standards of care in crisis” have been implemented for hospitals in northern Gem State. Crisis care standards occur when there are more coronavirus patients than medical providers.
“We have reached an unprecedented and unwanted time in the history of our state,” Little said in a press release from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. “We’ve taken so many steps to avoid getting there, but once again we need to ask more Idahoans to choose the COVID-19 vaccine. More Idahoans need to choose to get the vaccine so we can minimize the spread of the disease and reduce the number of ‘COVID-19 hospitalizations, many of which involve younger Idahoans and can be prevented with safe and effective vaccines.’
Between the Eastern Idaho Public Health District and the Southeast Public Health District, the IDHW reports that 47% of those over the age of 12 have been completely vaccinated. An additional 6% of the population has received only one dose of two-dose vaccines.