President Biden ’s New Vaccine Mandate Might Have Unintended Consequences

Jeffrey A. SingerThe Washington Postreports that President Biden will announce this afternoon that he will require all government employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or face possible termination. They will not be exempt from the requirement if they agree to frequent testing.The administration also plans to mandate that all businesses with 100 or more employees require their employees to get vaccinated or take weekly COVID tests. Finally, it will use its leverage to mandate that all hospitals receiving Medicaid or Medicare funds vaccinate their workers.I don ’t believe the government has the right toforce individuals to get vaccinated. However, employers have the right to require their employees to get vaccinated. Just as business owners have the right to say to customers, “No shirt, no shoes, no service,” so too they have the right to say, “no vax, no service.” The same principle applies to the terms of employment. This is an extension of property rights and the right to freedom of association. Therefore, I don ’t have any problem, in principle, with the government requiring its own employees to get vaccinated.I am not a legal or constitutional expert, but I suspect the federal government probably can use the carrot ‐​and‐​stick approach with health care facilities that receive federal Medicaid and Medicare funds because it has leveraged federal funding to get state and local acquiescence in the past. But I can ’t speak to th...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs