U.S. Postal Service employees are exempt from the Biden administration’s new coronavirus-vaccine requirements for federal workers and large companies, White House officials told the Washington Post on Thursday evening.
President Biden announced that the Labor Department would develop rules to require all companies with more than 100 employees to mandate coronavirus vaccinations or weekly testing for workers. Additionally, Biden signed an executive order requiring all “federal executive branch workers” to be vaccinated, along with all federal contractors, according to the White House outline of the plan.
However, those requirements do not extend to the USPS, a federal agency that employs over 644,000 people.
“We strongly encourage them to comply with these standards,” White House officials told the Post. It was not immediately clear why the administration’s vaccination requirements do not extend to the Postal Service.
Businesses that ignore the new vaccination and testing requirements could face a penalty of up to $14,000 per violation, a senior administration official told reporters. Biden said the new requirements would help “protect vaccinated workers from unvaccinated coworkers.”
The president also called on state governors to mandate coronavirus vaccinations for all teachers and school employees.
“Vaccination requirements for schools are nothing new,” Biden said. “They work. They’re overwhelmingly supported by educators and their unions.”
Source: National Review
