WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Monday argued that the federal government had all the power it needed to require large employers to mandate vaccination of their workers against the Covid-19 virus — or to require those who refuse the shots to wear masks and submit to weekly testing.
In a 28-page filing before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which temporarily blocked the mandate with a nationwide stay last week, the Justice Department argued that the rule was necessary to protect workers from the pandemic and was well grounded in law.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has reached a deal with nine labor unions regarding how the city will handle unvaccinated employees under its tough new vaccination mandate. In exchange, the unions have agreed to drop their legal efforts to overturn the new policy, the city announced Thursday.
The nine unions collectively represent about 88,000 of the 160,000 employees covered by the latest mandate, which requires all city employees to get vaccinated for the coronavirus with no option to take a weekly test. The unions include District Council 37, Teamsters Local 237, the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association Local 831, and SEIU Local 300. ...
San Francisco plans to extend its indoor proof-of-vaccination requirements to children 5 to 11 years old, the first major U.S. city to do so, following the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s announcement Wednesday recommending the Pfizer-BioNTech lower-dose Covid vaccine for this age group.
The city, which has a proof-of-vaccination mandate for everyone 12 and older to access indoor activities, like restaurants, gyms and sporting events, said that San Franciscans should start preparing to show immunization cards for children 5 to 11 in the coming months. ...
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