Press Releases
Nadler Applauds Administration Action Following His Call to Provide Paid Time Off for Workers Getting VaccinatedThe new rule follows Nadler’s bicameral letter to DOL and White House urging PTO for employees to get vaccinated and recover from side effects
Washington,
November 4, 2021
Washington, D.C. - Today, Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a new rule that will expand vaccination and testing requirements, as well as provide support to employees receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The Administration issued the rule after Nadler’s ongoing efforts to ensure employees have access to paid time off to get vaccinated. This rule is needed to support the millions of hourly shift workers who are financially unable to take unpaid time off for vaccination and recovery and are disproportionately from low-income, minority, and immigrant communities. According to a recent survey, nearly 20 percent of workers have not received a vaccination because they are afraid of missing work or could not get time off from work.
“American workers should not have to choose between risking their health at work and risking their livelihoods,” said Representative Nadler. “Millions of hourly shift workers are financially unable to take unpaid time off for vaccination and recovery. These workers are disproportionately from low-income, minority, and immigrant communities. As the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to infect Americans across the country, it is more important than ever to remove vaccination barriers to put the pandemic behind us. I applaud the Biden Administration for ensuring that employers are doing their part to encourage workers to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities by getting vaccinated. Today’s announcement is a big win for American workers. It marks another step forward in our road to recovery as we make it easier for more Americans to get vaccinated so we can bring an end to this pandemic.” The new OSHA rule compels employers with 100 or more employees to ensure each of their workers is fully vaccinated or tests for COVID-19 on at least a weekly basis. The rule also requires that these employers provide paid time for employees to get vaccinated and provide sick leave to recover from any side effects. All unvaccinated workers will be required to wear a face mask in the workplace. OSHA is offering robust compliance assistance to help businesses implement the standard, which can be found here. In September, Nadler and Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) led their colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Martin Walsh and White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients, urging the Administration to work with Congress, companies, and governments to ensure that employees are offered pay for any time off needed to get vaccinated and recover from any side effects of vaccination. |