Here’s what Charlotte employers think about Biden vaccine mandate, survey finds
A survey of 84 businesses by the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance shows that 56% of those Charlotte-area employers agree with President Joe Biden’s impending vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees.
Biden announced the mandate on Sept. 9, requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for federal workers, health care workers and employees at businesses with more than 100 workers.
Employees at those businesses would need to provide proof of vaccination or get tested for COVID-19 weekly.
But 69% of the Charlotte businesses who responded to the survey said the vaccination mandate would not change their timing on plans to return employees to offices.
Return to work plans have been widely varied at Charlotte-area businesses. On Tuesday, Wells Fargo told employees it would delay plans to return to offices to Jan. 10, 2022, delaying its schedule for the third time.
Last month, major Charlotte employer Duke Energy told the Observer it would delay plans to bring employees back to offices in phases until October.
Another Charlotte-area business, RedVentures, will not require workers to return to offices until next year. But the company is allowing employees to return to its Fort Mill, S.C., headquarters voluntarily, with separate hours for vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
The businesses surveyed by the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance ranged in size, from under 100 to more than 500 employees. But when looking at just businesses with 100 or more employees — businesses which will be affected by the Biden mandate — principal researcher Adrienne Hua said the same results were found.
The majority of surveyed businesses with more than 100 employees also agreed with the vaccine mandate, she told the Observer.
Many Charlotte businesses are still waiting on guidelines from the federal government before putting the vaccination mandate into place. That could be weeks away.
In a press briefing Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the the federal government will release more details on the mandate “in the coming weeks,” CNN reported.
Still, 20% of the businesses who responded to the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance survey said they already have a plan for the mandate. Another 35% said they could organize a plan within a few days or the week of the mandate taking effect.
And some businesses have already started implementing plans for the mandate, or begun encouraging vaccines among employees, Hua said.
“COVID has obviously been this huge disrupter (for businesses),” she added. “… But a lot of businesses are trucking through it. They are making their way through it and they’re surviving.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 10:45 AM.
.jpg)