After pushing employee vaccinations, Missouri Chamber decries Biden’s vaccine mandate
In July, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry launched a statewide campaign urging employers to increase vaccination rates among workers.
Identifying vaccines as the path out of the coronavirus pandemic and into a full economic recovery, the chamber’s COVID Stops Here program began to recognize businesses that record high levels of vaccination.
But even as it encourages shots, the chamber decried President Joe Biden’s plans to require workers at companies with more than 100 employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine or submit to weekly testing.
In a statement, chamber president and CEO Daniel Mehan said the federal government should work with employers to promote shots rather than force them.
“The Biden Administration’s new COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandate is the wrong approach for business. As always, the Missouri Chamber will stand against attempts to place new government mandates on our employer community,” Mehan’s statement read.
“Each workplace is different and employers have long held the right to establish vaccine policies that work for their businesses. The Missouri Chamber believes all employers should continue to have this right when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine.”
The chamber’s statement went on to say that Biden’s approach will only further divide public sentiment over the vaccines.
“We need more Missourians to get vaccinated so that we can begin to put this pandemic behind us,” Mehan said. “The Missouri Chamber will continue leading in this effort and we strongly encourage all Missourians to get vaccinated against COVID-19.”
The chamber says it is the largest business association in Missouri. Together with the Missouri Chamber Federation, the organization represents more than 75,000 employers across the state.
Mehan could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.
The chamber’s COVID Stops Here initiative celebrates companies based on what percentage of the workforce is vaccinated. Employers with 90% of staff vaccinated receive a gold designation; those with 80% vaccination receive silver and those with 70% vaccination are categorized as bronze. Once verified, employers are given signage and media kits to help promote their status in local communities and encourage others to vaccinate.
The president’s new rules are expected to face multiple legal challenges. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt signaled they would fight Biden’s plan and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Friday that he isn’t ruling out a special legislative session to challenge the mandate.
If enforced, the mandate to vaccinate or face weekly testing could affect some 80 million Americans. In Kansas City, tens of thousands of employees would be affected. The mandate includes all federal workers and contractors, and private employers with 100 or more workers.
Many experts have viewed employer mandates as the last major lever available to encourage widespread vaccination. While some large firms like Delta airlines and local hospitals have implemented their own mandates, most of the region’s large businesses have not. For example, Cerner Corp., the area’s largest private employer, said it had no plans to require vaccines for all staff members.
Alan Cobb, president and CEO of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, also released a statement on Friday criticizing the White House’s plan.
“The Kansas Chamber and its members believe in the right of employers to determine their own policies for employees,” the statement said. “In the case of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations, regardless of the level of government, businesses should neither be required nor prevented from requiring the vaccination.”
