LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — State leaders pushed back against a nationwide vaccine mandate that the federal government doubled down on.
The White House unveiled new rules that will require millions of unvaccinated working Americans to get the shot.
We knew about this mandate before, but now employers have a clearer picture on timing, the requirements, and how to enforce it.
The deadline was originally set for Dec. 8, but has now been pushed back to Jan. 4.
Ken Kelley, Government Affairs Chairman for the Arkansas Ambulance Association, said they're relieved about the delay.
"We were looking at some very hard decisions that were going to have to be made by a lot of ambulance services around the state," he said.
Kelley described the White House's vaccine mandate extension as "breathing room."
"Definitely potential for significant staff reductions across the state, that an ambulance for an entire community could maybe not be staffed," he said.
A survey in the summer showed ambulance department vaccine rates ranging from 25% to 90%, according to Kelley.
Before the Dec. 8 deadline was extended, he said they could've lost anywhere from 15-20% of their workforce.
Kelley said the month delay is giving them just what they needed... time.
"It gives time for staff education. It gives time for those that are wanting to receive the vaccination," he said.
Kelley and his staff still have to go through the thousands of pages to see exactly where they fall in line.
Steve Rauls, Sanford Law Firm Associate Attorney, said OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has had employee rules like this for years and this is simply just adding onto it.
"This is just one more thing employers have to do to keep employees and the public safe," he said.
The mandate requires all federal employees, contractors, and healthcare workers at facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid, to be fully vaccinated by the beginning of the new year.
Those aren't the only people impacted though, according to Rauls.
"Any employer with 100 or more employees is going to have to either require vaccinations or a regular negative COVID test," he said.
Rauls said businesses who violate the rules could be paying fines of nearly $14 thousand per employee for each violation.
If workers don't either get a shot or take a test, he said they could be out of a job.
"The rules say you can't be allowed at the workplace, if you aren't either vaccinated or testing negative," Rauls said.
As for employers, he said they need to use the next eight weeks to get some rules in place.
"You need to communicate with your employees about what you, as an employer, are going to expect of them by Jan. 4," Rauls said.
The rules are also going to require employers to keep records on who has been vaccinated and who has been getting tested.
Rauls said employers should go ahead and start thinking about what those files need to look like before the rules take effect.