Peach Tree Times

In an effort to stem the wave of COVID-19 infections attributed to the delta variant, President Joe Biden enacted a mandate requiring businesses to require vaccinations or regular testing of employees, but Gov. Brian Kemp claims this is hindering economic recovery.

Kemp told Real Clear Politics that the requirement could lead to job losses and hiring issues and serves as a distraction to out-of-control inflation. 

“If they set the precedent for this, what are they going to come for next in your business, in your nonprofit?” he said. “That's what scares me.” 

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, the first attorney general to file a lawsuit in connection with the mandate according to the Associated Press, joined attorneys general from 23 other states in voicing their opposition to the mandate in a letter to Biden. 

“We will fight back against the Administration’s abuse of power and will protect the citizens and businesses in our state,” Carr said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School, wrote in a blog that Biden’s vaccine mandate could face an uphill battle in court challenges.  On the flip side, Jennifer D. Oliva, director of the Center for Health and Pharmaceutical Law at Seton Hall University School of Law, wrote for NBC News that the mandate might hold up to legal scrutiny. 

“The federal courts have uniformly rejected constitutional challenges to government vaccine mandates, so long as they don’t single out one demographic group in a way that’s discriminatory,” she wrote. 

Biden’s mandate would apply to companies and organizations that employ 100 or more people, according to the Associated Press. Employees must be vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing as a condition of employment. 

Whether the mandates and federal unemployment aid has any impact, Georgia officials in a press release point to the state’s unemployment rate, which dropped to 3.5% in August, all after rejecting additional benefits and lockdowns. 

As for the mandate, the Associated Press noted that the Biden administration is prepared for legal challenges and has offered legal justification, pointing out that the Department of Labor is tasked with ensuring that work environments are safe. White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted that a pandemic that has claimed more than 675,000 lives would qualify as a potential safety issue.