ConDig (25-Jan-22) A decision by the Supreme Court to slap down President Biden’s emergency vaccine mandate for firms that employ 100 or more people will help ease labor shortages currently gripping the US construction industry, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. 

The association said that the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s (OSHA) withdraw of its emergency temporary standard following the ruling should help firms avoid losing workers unwilling to comply with the new measure.

“The Biden administration is right to abandon its misguided vaccine emergency rule and we encourage them to do the same with a similar measure affecting federal contractors that we are also challenging in court,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. 

“At the same time, we will continue to work with the administration to ensure its planned permanent vaccine rule applies only to workers in industries like healthcare that OSHA deems at high risk from the coronavirus.”

It comes as construction employment in December remained below levels reached just before the start of the pandemic in more than half the states as firms struggled to find enough workers to hire, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by the association.

The Associated General Contractors of America challenged the OSHA rule late last year noting that the measure was unlawful and would do little to boost vaccination rates among construction workers — citing the fact that 64% of the construction industry works for firms that employ 99 or fewer people. With nearly 90% of construction firms having a hard time finding workers to hire, the rule would simply have encouraged vaccine-hesitant workers to move to smaller firms.