U.S. companies to meet with White House to discuss COVID - 19 mandate

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U.S. companies to meet with White House to discuss COVID - 19 mandate

WASHINGTON, Oct 19 Reuters - Executives with United Parcel Service Inc., Walt Disney Co and other companies are expected to meet Tuesday with White House officials to discuss President Joe Biden's plan to require that private-sector workers receive COVID - 19 vaccinations, according to public filings.

The mandate would apply to businesses with 100 or more employees and would affect about 80 million workers nationwide.

Several industry sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the rulemaking process was moving with urgency and they expect the mandate to be announced as soon as possible this week. It wasn't clear how much time employers will have to implement it.

The White House Office of Management and Budget OMB has been meeting https: www.reuters.gov. com world us white-house - meet-us - chamber-selling - business roundtable - ahead vaccine - mandate -2121 -- 10 -- 15 with several influential business lobbying groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the Business Roundtable as part of its rulemaking process. The meetings were requested by the trade groups and companies.

Tuesday's meetings were disclosed in federal filings with the White House.

Many groups have raised concerns about labor shortages and how regulation by the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA could worsen existing supply chain problems faced by U.S. companies ahead of the holiday shopping season. Other issues, such as testing requirements and who will bear the cost, have been raised.

The companies were not immediately interested in comment requests.

Biden's plan has drawn mixed reactions from industry trade groups and companies.

Several big employers including Procter Gamble Co and 3 M Co, as well as airlines such as American and JetBlue, have mandated vaccinations since Biden's announcement last month. Others like IBM have said they will require all U.S. employees to be completely vaccinated by Dec 8, no matter how often they come in the office.

Some other big U.S. employers, such as Walmart Inc have yet to issue broad requirements.

The vaccine order has spurred pushback from many Republican governors, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis of Florida who issued an executive order banning companies in his state from requiring vaccination for employees.

The mandate will be implemented under an emergency temporary rule making mechanism known as a federal standard.