Skip to main content

Breaking: U.S. Senate Votes to Repeal President Biden’s Vaccine Mandate For Large Employers


Here we are, yet again, with another late breaking development in the evening.  At this rate, breaking news is becoming a pattern, at least two days in a row.

Earlier this evening, the U.S. Senate voted 52 - 48 to repeal President Joe Biden’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for large scale employers (those with at least 100 employees.)  As readers might recall, Democrats have a slim majority control of the Senate.  While the Senate is split 50 - 50, Vice President Kamala Harris serves as the tie breaking vote. Therefore, as readers might have guessed by this point, two Democratic Senators joined with Republicans and voted to repeal the mandate.  Those two Senators?  Joe Manchin from West Virginia and Jon Tester from Montana. 

Now for those who live and breath these coronavirus vaccine mandates, I caution you that tonight’s vote likely does not mean much in the long run.  Even though the Senate voted to repeal this mandate, the House would still need to approve the legislation (which likely will not happen as Democrats, who have majority control of the House, should have enough votes to defeat it...if it ever even made it to a vote.)  Assuming the House somehow voted to repeal the mandate, President Biden would likely veto the legislation.  If/when that happened, there are not enough votes to override the veto.

As a result, tonight’s vote might all be for naught.  If readers recall, this vaccine mandate has already been stayed in court.  Assuming that works its way through the court system (and maybe gets to the U.S. Supreme Court), the courts themselves might end this (and other) vaccine mandates without Congress needing to do anything.

Regardless, this is a breaking story worth highlighting...and yet another thorn in the side of the Biden Administration’s attempts to have the vaccine mandates remain in place.


For additional information:  https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxbusiness.com/politics/senate-votes-repeal-biden-federal-vaccine-mandate-businesses.amp

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Vetoes Minimum Wage Hike

A few months ago, readers might remember that I pointed out that the New Jersey Legislature had voted to approve a minimum wage hike in the state .  Under the approved legislation, the minimum wage rate would rise to $10.10/hour in the next year and at least $15/hour over the next five.  (The current minimum wage rate in the state is $8.38/hour).  In that article, I had noted that the bill was then going to go before Governor Chris Christie for his approval or veto. As I had suggested previously, I thought that the Governor would likely veto the bill based upon his prior actions and comments on similar legislation.  Well, a few days ago, Governor Christie did just that and vetoed the bill on the grounds that it "would trigger an escalation of wages that will make doing business in New Jersey unfathomable."  Pointing to the increase in hourly minimum wage rates, the Governor referred to the bill as a "really radical increase."  (It is interesting to c...
Post a Comment
Read more