Listen to MI Business

01/25/2022

Workplace safety regulator OSHA said it is pulling the vaccine and testing rules for businesses effective Wednesday.

01/19/2022

On Jan. 3, Starbucks said it would require all employees to be vaccinated by Feb. 9 or face a weekly COVID test requirement.

01/15/2022

Job creators need flexibility to make the best choices for their circumstances, not one-size-fits-all mandates.

General Electric Co. is suspending implementation of the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers while another industrial heavyweight, Honeywell International Inc., will stick to its policy.

01/14/2022

“We strongly support the United States Supreme Court’s decision to block the federal vaccine or test mandate,” said Wendy Block, vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Chamber and spokesperson for the Listen to MI Business Coalition, which had urged Biden to reverse the mandate before it headed into the courts."

The U.S. Supreme Court said the Biden order overreached in covering every large business, regardless of risk. Healthcare workers are a different matter, the court decided.

01/14/2022

“With this mandate, what we really were voicing concerns about were the unintended consequences associated with it,” said Wendy Block of Listen to MI Business. “Just the logistical challenges that went along with this. The challenges that convincing vaccine-hesitant or vaccine-resistant employees to get vaccinated and this very real concern about how employees in this labor market could very well quit their jobs.”

In a 6-3 ruling, the conservative majority court says the president lacks the unilateral power to impose this mandate and that OSHA does not have the authority to enforce it.

01/14/2022

“Other chambers and business associations also said they were pleased with the Supreme Court ruling, including the Michigan Manufacturers Association and the Listen to MI Business coalition, which includes several business chambers from around the state.”

The ruling is a win for conservatives and others who challenged the authority to make such a rule, but critics say the decision is dangerous.

01/14/2022

Welcome news from the U.S. Supreme Court this afternoon given the unintended consequences and how Michigan businesses would or could implement OSHA’s sweeping and logistically, incredibly complicated vaccine mandate. MI Chamber’s VP of Business Advocacy & Engagement, Wendy Block, weighs in:

01/14/2022

Wendy Block of Listen to MI Business and Michigan Chamber of Commerce tells FOX 17's Aaron Parseghian FOX 17 that Michigan's business community supports the Supreme Court's decision on the Biden employer mandate.

01/14/2022

“This ruling is a huge sigh of relief for many Michigan businesses that were on edge about this unprecedented attack on employer rights and still very uncertain about how they would or could implement the sweeping vaccine mandate.”

Businesses with 100 or more employees will not be federally mandated to have a vaccine policy.

01/13/2022

Michigan Chamber of Commerce's Wendy Block: “We strongly support the United States Supreme Court’s decision to block the federal vaccine or test mandate on employers with 100 or more employees. The court fully acknowledged the sweeping and disruptive nature of OSHA’s vaccine mandate and the numerous complexities associated with its implementation. We will continue to encourage vaccines and the necessity of maintaining thoughtful safety protocols in the workplace.”

ListentoMIBusiness is a coalition of employers leading the way to an economic recovery.

01/13/2022

Michigan Chamber of Commerce's Wendy Block talks to WDIV's Mara MacDonald about the U.S. Supreme Court decision to block the Biden vaccine mandate on employers.

Wendy Block talks about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the OSHA vaccine mandate on employers is not permissible.

01/09/2022

“The U.S. Supreme Court's six conservative justices expressed doubt during oral arguments Friday about the Biden administration's authority to require that more than 80 million workers nationwide get a COVID vaccine or get tested regularly.”

The High Court is considering an emergency stay on the rule that is set to go into effect in part on Monday.