California recommends private employers require COVID vaccines or testing for workers
California officials are calling on private employers to require their employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or be subject to regular testing.
The move is a recommendation, not a requirement. The new guidance comes as California sees increases in workplace coronavirus outbreaks spurred by the highly infectious delta variant.
“Employers should follow the state’s lead: require their employees to be fully vaccinated, or undergo regular, frequent COVID-19 testing to ensure their colleagues and the public are protected,” Dee Dee Myers, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s senior advisor and director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as GO-Biz, wrote in an article in the Sacramento Business Journal last week. “A healthy California economy starts with a healthy workplace, and the vaccine will get us there.”
The Newsom administration as a whole supports businesses requiring workers to submit proof of full vaccination or receive regular testing, spokeswoman Erin Mellon said in an e-mail Monday.
San Diego County as well as some counties in the Bay Area are also among those urging private employers to get their workers vaccinated or regularly tested.
Although some companies such as Google are requiring their workers to be fully vaccinated, many employers have not yet implemented a mandate. Although the vaccines are not yet fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration, some legal experts, including those at the Biden administration, say private businesses can implement a mandate.
Business organizations have said they support the state’s push to get more workers vaccinated.
However, the state should help businesses through measures such as providing tax credits for the cost of increased testing and removing extended paid sick leave for workers who are not vaccinated, leaders of business organizations said in an article published in the Sacramento Business Journal Thursday.
The leaders also called for enhanced sentencing for those assaulting and harassing workers who are enforcing mask or vaccination requirements.
Staff reporter Dale Kasler contributed to this report.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "California recommends private employers require COVID vaccines or testing for workers."
