Iowa Division of Labor: State will not adopt OSHA’s vaccine mandate

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments of Friday in relation to the OSHA Vaccine Mandate, which would require all private employers with more than 100 employees to mandate vaccines or regular Covid-19 testing.

And while the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet issued a decision on whether or not to enforce it, the Iowa Division of Labor stated it will not.

“As a state plan state, the Iowa Division of Labor is charged with protecting the health and safety of those in the workplace and has the authority to enforce workplace safety and health standards for Iowa businesses,” explained Iowa Labor Commissioner Rod Roberts. “Iowa doesn’t have a standard requiring the Covid-19 vaccine or testing. But after closely reviewing the federal OSHA Vaccine Mandate, Iowa has determined it will not adopt the federal standard. Iowa has concluded that it is not necessary because Iowa’s existing standards are at least as effective as the federal standard change.”

With Commissioner Roberts’ decision, Iowa employers and their employees are not required to comply with the federal OSHA Vaccine Mandate.

In response to Commissioner Roberts’ decision, Governor Reynolds also applauded the decision.

“We are going to continue to protect the freedoms and liberties of Iowans. The Biden Administration continues to ignore the constitutional rights afforded to all Americans, which our country was built on. Instead, they’d rather dictate health care decisions and eliminate personal choice, causing our businesses and employees to suffer and exacerbating our workforce shortage.”

No word on when the U.S. Supreme Court will make its ruling on the mandate. Experts expect some sort of ruling before the Feb. 9th testing deadline.