Missouri Gov. Parson issues order against expected Biden workplace vaccination rule

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday issued an executive order in opposition to an expected federal COVID-19 vaccine rule for private businesses. But its impact appears limited.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is expected to issue a directive requiring private businesses with 100 or more employees to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for their workers or submit them to regular testing. The proposed rule has outraged Republicans opposed to vaccine mandates and prompted Missouri business groups to raise concerns that workers will quit en masse rather than comply.

Parson’s order directs state agencies, boards and entities “within the executive branch” in Missouri not to require anyone to get a vaccine as a result of the federal rule if they have religious or medical objections. It also directs them not to penalize any person or business for not complying with the federal rule over a religious or medical objection.

It further directs state agencies to cooperate with an expected lawsuit against the Biden administration that Attorney General Eric Schmitt plans to file.

“While we hoped the Biden Administration would recognize these mandates as the abuse of authority that they are, they have not, and we must now use every tool we have available to fight this federal intrusion,” Parson said in a news release, adding that he supports vaccinations “without supporting mandates.”

But his order does not appear to have any effect on whether Missouri businesses will have to comply with the upcoming federal order.

Missouri is one of the states where OSHA directly enforces its own workplace safety rules for private businesses, rather than through an agreement with a state agency. And state governments already are not subject to OSHA rules for their own workforces.

“It doesn’t do a lot,” attorney Chuck Hatfield, who worked in the attorney general’s office under Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, said of the executive order. “When it comes to private business there’s not a state agency that enforces OSHA [regulations] anyway.”

Hatfield said one area it could have an effect is by prohibiting state agencies to revoke a business’ license or state accreditation if it breaks the federal vaccine rule.

Parson’s spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

By contrast, two weeks ago Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an order in direct conflict with the expected federal rule by banning even private businesses in that state from requiring vaccines of their own employees.

Parson earlier this year said he did not support any government vaccine orders but that private businesses should be able to establish their own requirements.

Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, an Arnold Republican who was among the conservative lawmakers pushing for legislation to exempt Missouri from the OSHA rule earlier this year, said she feared a federal vaccine rule would violate a right to refuse a vaccine on religious grounds.

“I certainly applaud the governor in clarifying that the state is not going to require that if is against somebody’s religious beliefs or to the detriment of their health under a medical exemption, and I’d be hard pressed to think of anybody who would object to this kind of an order,” she said.

This story was originally published October 28, 2021 at 4:29 PM.