TRENTON, N.J. – Assemblyman Kevin Rooney says he will stand against Pres. Joe Biden’s constitutional runaround to force businesses to enforce his vaccine policies.
“This is blatantly a control issue, not a health issue, at this point. And delaying the mandates, which go against everything it means to be an American, is only delaying the continued and inevitable destruction of the American economy,” Rooney (R-Bergen) said. “Governor Murphy’s lockdowns destroyed a third of New Jersey businesses. This Democrat-backed mandate will crush those that remain.”
Biden’s so-called “Path out of the Pandemic Plan,” announced in September, promised a mandate that companies with 100 or more employees must require workers be fully vaccinated – a moving target as vaccine efficacy wanes and some at-risk populations are being told they need two boosters — or submit to weekly testing.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced those rules Nov. 4: employees must vaccinate or test – at their own expense – or employers face fines of $14,000 per violation. OSHA wasted little time saying they are eyeing similar rules for smaller companies. The edict impacts more than 84 million private-sector workers for now.
“I read a headline today that President Biden doesn’t want to be a Grinch during the holiday shopping season, so he’s pushing back the deadline to help ease supply chains,” Rooney said. “Who knew the threat of Covid-19 could be staved off by the need for Amazon warehouse workers and drivers?”
As of Friday, 11 attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit against the mandate, with more expected to follow. Governors across the nation have also promised to file lawsuits, as have private business including The Daily Wire, a media company based in Nashville, Tennessee.