Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
The United States Postal Service has requested more time to bring itself into compliance with President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
According to a report in the Washington Post, Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino sent a letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requesting a 120-day extension and that the USPS be exempt from the mandate until after the Supreme Court rules on mandates. The court is slated to hear arguments Friday.
Tulino wrote that the mandate was “likely to result in the loss of many employees — either by employees leaving or being disciplined.”
He added, “We respectfully suggest that the nation cannot afford the additional potential substantial harm that would be engendered if the ability of the Postal Service to deliver mail and packages is significantly negatively impacted.”
Tulino did not indicate a specific number of employees who could be affected but said that an intense holiday season had made it cumbersome for the agency to bring itself into compliance prior to the Jan. 10 deadline set by OSHA.
Technically, OSHA cannot grant an exemption to the Post Office, but it can issue a “variance,” which means the USPS would be allowed to avoid the mandate if it could demonstrate that it had in place alternative protections OSHA and the Biden administration viewed as sufficient.
The Post reports that the chance of a variance being granted is low.
While neither OSHA nor the White House have issued a statement about the USPS request, Democrats in Congress lashed out at the Postal Service, specifically Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump.
Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) told the Post DeJoy should be fired and accused the postmaster general of endangering lives and playing politics.
The U.S. continues to suffer from supply-chain woes, which has caused members of the press to question if mandates are exacerbating the problem.
Thursday, when asked directly by a reporter if mandates were depriving the nation of needed supply-chain workers, Port Envoy to the White House Supply Chain Task Force John Porcari expressed optimism, but neither confirmed nor denied that mandates were having an adverse effect on labor.
“(With) 200 million Americans vaccinated, it’s a big step forward throughout the supply chain, whether it’s truckers, longshore workers, distribution centers, or any other part of the supply chain,” Porcari said. “We’re working hard towards vaccination, which is the real protection for Americans.”
He added, “Going forward, we’ve been working with individual industries to make it as easy as possible to get vaccinated.”
OSHA has stated that it will begin issuing citations for noncompliance on Feb. 9.