How a small government agency will enforce the vaccine mandate for 80 million workers

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COVID-19 vaccines are offered at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital on August 10, 2021 in Lake Charles, La. President Biden has ordered 80 million workers in the U.S. to get vaccinated or undergo regular testing.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

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And then comes the challenge of enforcement, which brings us back to the question about co-workers.

Given how small and chronically understaffed OSHA is, the idea of snitching on someone in your office is actually not that far from reality.

Employee complaints are an important part of enforcement given how few inspectors the government has, says Rich Fairfax, a safety consultant with the National Safety Council who spent 36 years at OSHA, including as head of enforcement.

According to OSHA, there are about 1,850 federal and state inspectors covering some 8 million worksites nationwide.

«So you can do the math,» Fairfax says. «They clearly can’t go into every one.»

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Animal rights activists protest in front of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration building in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 12, 2021, calling on OSHA to do more to protect slaughterhouse workers from COVID-19.

Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

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Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

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Barab believes the vast majority of companies will comply with the federal vaccine rule once it’s rolled out, but nevertheless, it’s a big moment for OSHA.

«They’ve been kind of this small agency that nobody noticed much, and suddenly they’re thrown into the spotlight with an extremely controversial policy,» he says.

It’s a policy the government hopes will soon be less controversial, now that more and more workers are getting vaccinated, and vaccine mandates are reporting success.

• vaccine mandate
• covid vaccine
• OSHA