Partner Ian Carleton Schaefer Tapped as COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Guru and Corporate Reopening Strategist

Loeb Employment & Labor partner Ian Carleton Schaefer has been highly sought out and quoted in numerous media publications – including The New York Times and Politico – about the nation’s new federal safety regulations commanding businesses with more than 100 employees to require vaccinations against COVID-19, affirming mandates already in place at many companies and giving cover to employers that had yet to decide.

If enacted, the proposed rules, which President Biden announced on September 8, 2021, will require workers at private sector employers of 100 or more employees to be immunized or face weekly testing, and will mandate that the businesses offer employees paid time off to get vaccinated.

Ian told The New York Times that these new regulations will help balance out potential competition and issues across a variety of businesses and employers. “Particularly in service industries or industries where they may have been represented by minority populations or lower-wage earners who are disproportionately likely not to be vaccinated — those employers were reluctant to push out a vaccine mandate because they thought they’d lose talent,” Ian said.

“If they rolled out that mandate and people…[] weren’t getting vaccinated and walking across the street [to other employers] elsewhere, they’d be in a bind,” he noted.

The New York Times also reported that on September 13, a trade group representing about 2,000 consumer brands sent a letter to President Biden asking for clarification about his September 8 announcement. The White House said it will provide more guidance by September 24.

At this point, “there are more questions than answers,” Ian told The New York Times. Even as companies are calling their lobbyists and lawyers for more insight, many are discussing at a senior level the realities of putting a mandate in place, despite not yet knowing exactly what that might entail, he said.

“In the absence of actionable intelligence that gives a little bit more guidance and direction, I think [companies are] controlling for what they can control, which is a lot of internal politics at this point,” Ian continued.

Aside from the many questions surrounding the mandate, Ian also touched on other outstanding obstacles facing regulators and businesses with Politico. “Implementing a rapid testing program like the one envisioned under Biden’s plan is logistically difficult and costly,” he said.

In addition to the articles published by The New York Times and Politico, Ian is quoted in the following articles discussing the COVID-19 vaccine workplace mandate (some subscriptions may be required):  

• "States Are Complicating Corporate Pandemic Planning," The New York Times DealBook (February 1, 2022)

• "Rise in Workplace Class Action Litigation Looms: Experts," Business Insurance (January 25, 2022)

• "Omicron’s Surge Gives Bosses a Reason to Order Shots Biden Can’t," Bloomberg (January 13, 2022) 

• "Business Groups Score Victory with Supreme Court Ruling," The Hill (January 13, 2022)

• "High Court Seems More Likely to Accept Health Care Worker Vaccine Directive," SHRM (January 12, 2022)

• "Justices Seem Divided on OSHA’s Authority to Issue Vaccine-or-Testing ETS," SHRM (January 10, 2022)

• "The Supreme Court Just Signaled It Could Block Biden’s Nationwide Vaccine Mandate," Fortune (January 7, 2022)

• "Supreme Court Hears Major Vaccine Mandate Cases Affecting Nation's Employers," XpertHR (January 7, 2022)

• "Workplace Vaccine Rules Take Center Stage at High Court," Law360 (January 6, 2022)

• "How to Ask Employees About Vaccination Status," SHRM (January 4, 2022)

• "NYC Expands Vaccine Requirement to All Private Sector Workers," Restaurant Observer (January 2, 2022) 

• "Time to Review COVID-19 Vaccination-or-Testing ETS Compliance Steps," SHRM (December 20, 2021)

• "New York City COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate For All Private Sector Workers," Allwork.space (December 7, 2021)

• "NYC ‘Preemptive Strike’ May Help Get Vax Rules To High Court," Law360 (December 6, 2021)

• "New York City expands vaccine requirement to all private-sector workers," HRDive (December 6, 2021)

• "New York City Sets Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate for Private-Sector Workers," The Wall Street Journal (December 6, 2021)

• "More than half of employers to require Covid vaccines as omicron fears grow," CNBC (December 1, 2021)

• "DOL Vax-Or-Test Rule’s Ascension To High Court ‘Inevitable’," Law360 (November 15, 2021)

• "Don’t Wait To Bargain Over Vax-Or-Test Rule, Attys Say," Law360 (November 9, 2021)

• "Biden plan to make unvaccinated workers pay for Covid testing could backfire," Politico (November 9, 2021)

• "Legal Challenges to DOL’s Vax-Or-Test Rule Are Rolling In," Law360 (November 5, 2021)

• "After Mandate, 91% of Tyson Workers Are Vaccinated," The New York Times (September 30, 2021)
• "How Much Will the Vaccine Mandate Move the Needle?" SHRM (September 23, 2021)
• “OSHA Likely to Struggle to Enforce Biden Vaccine Mandate,” Washington Examiner (September 16, 2021)
• “Companies Have Questions for President Biden About Vaccine Mandates,” The New York Times (September 13, 2021)
• “Biden Vaccine Mandate Shifts Calculus for Unions, Employers,” Law360 (September 13, 2021)
• “Major Questions Loom Over Biden Vaccine Mandate,” Politico (September 13, 2021)
• “The Week in Business: A Strong Push to Vaccinate,” The New York Times (September 12, 2021)
• “What to Expect from OSHA on COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Rules,” SHRM (September 12, 2021)
• “Can You Report York Employer for Not Following the New U.S. Vaccine Rules?” Quartz at Work (September 11, 2021)
• “Biden Pushes Companies on Vaccine Mandates,” DealBook (September 10, 2021)
• “What Contractors Must Know About Biden Vaccine Order: Explained,” Bloomberg Law (September 10, 2021)
• “Biden Asks OSHA to Order Vaccine Mandates at Large Employers,” The New York Times (September 9, 2021)

Ian serves as Chair of Loeb’s New York Employment & Labor practice and advises clients on the most existential workplace and human capital issues on both a domestic and international basis, with a particular focus advising companies on COVID-19 policies and reopening planning following the global pandemic. He has significant industry experience in the technology, media and telecommunications, and sports, music and entertainment sectors.