Wisconsin Congressional Delegates responded to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) COVID vaccine mandate that was announced Thursday. Representative Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI-05) said in a tweet that President Joe Biden couldn’t have chosen a worse time.
Fitzgerald said, “President Biden couldn’t have picked a worse time to slap his mandate on job creators as we head into the holiday season – which depends on a robust workforce.” He said that a COVID vaccine mandate “should never be pushed on the American people.”
President Biden couldn't have picked a worse time to slap his mandate on job creators as we head into the holiday season – which depends on a robust workforce.
My full statement on the Biden Administration's misguided vaccine mandate. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/7GfMvFrkQ9
— Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (@RepFitzgerald) November 4, 2021
“Our supply chain is stretched to the breaking point, inflation is rising, and now the President has heaped another burden on Wisconsin businesses,” Fitzgerald said. “I hope the 60-day compliance period provides enough time for the courts to undo what is clearly a serious overreach by the federal government and President Biden.”
Representative Thomas Tiffany (R-WI-08) also shared his disagreement with the mandate. “Overreaching vaccine mandates are only worsening our labor shortages. The choice to get the vaccine should be up to the individual, not the federal government,” Tiffany said.
Overreaching vaccine mandates are only worsening our labor shortages. The choice to get the vaccine should be up to the individual, not the federal government.
— Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) November 4, 2021
Wisconsin’s Democrat lawmakers have been silent regarding the announcement of the OSHA COVID vaccine mandate.
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), the state’s chamber of commerce, released a statement condemning the action by OSHA. WMC said, “OSHA’s ETS will place undue and unfair burdens on businesses who have already gone to great lengths and expense to protect the health and safety of their employees. It is unfortunate that the Biden Administration is forcing employers to police the vaccination status of their employees with a rule that will regrettably intensify the workforce challenges already plaguing our economy.”
One major lawsuit against the OSHA mandate has already surfaced. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) is suing the Biden administration in federal court, “on behalf of two Wisconsin businesses, challenging the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s sweeping new vaccine-or-test mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees.”
The Wisconsin businesses represented by WILL in the lawsuit are Plasticraft and Tankcraft, which both employ around 200 people.
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Hayley Feland is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun and The Wisconsin Daily Star | Star News Network. Follow Hayley on Twitter or like her Facebook page. Send news tips to [email protected].
