Trucking industry worried vaccination mandate will worsen driver shortages

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Louisiana trucking industry officials worry the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for businesses with at least 100 employees could exacerbate the ongoing driver shortage, reports WBRZ.

Details of the federal mandate were released Nov. 4. Employees of private businesses with 100 or more workers must be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4 or face weekly virus testing. Beyond full-time employees, businesses will need to count other workers in their overall employment number when determining if they meet the 100-employee benchmark.

Employees that work exclusively outdoors are not required to abide by the mandate, in addition to employees that are working within a workplace where there is no one else present. Those exemptions are leading some sectors, such as the trucking industry, to seek clarity. The industry has been suffering from driver shortages since before the pandemic. Read the entire story.