The U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for private businesses left companies like Starbucks and Carhartt scrambling to decide whether they should abandon the mandate or force their employees to be vaccinated.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Jan. 13 ruling striking down the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for private businesses left many companies scrambling to decide whether they should abandon the mandate or force their employees to be vaccinated while the lawsuit plays out in the lower courts.
Meanwhile, a coalition of attorneys general from 27 states is calling on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to rescind its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) because it lacks the authority to issue a broad vaccine mandate.
Starbucks was one of the first major retailers to backtrack on its plans to require workers to be vaccinated against COVID. Starbucks on Tuesday told its 228,000 employees at more than 9,000 U.S. coffee shops it would no longer require workers be fully vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID testing.
Tuesday’s announcement rescinded the company’s Jan. 3 statement that it would require all employees to comply with the vaccine-or-test requirement by Feb. 9. At the time, CEO John Culver said it was the responsibility of Starbucks’ leadership “to do whatever we can to help keep you safe and create the safest work environment possible.”
In Tuesday’s memo, Culver said the company respects the court’s ruling and will comply even though it doesn’t align with the company’s beliefs.
Starbucks is still encouraging employees to get vaccinated and boosted and offers two hours of paid time off for getting the shots.
Reggie Borges, spokesman for the company, said the vaccine mandate was not an independent company policy. “We knew OSHA was requiring it, the Supreme Court hadn’t ruled on it one way or the other and we needed to make sure our partners were supported and prepared to be in compliance,” he said.
According to The New York Times, the Supreme Court’s decision does not prohibit companies from enforcing their own vaccine rules.
This week, workwear company Carhartt became the latest company to enforce a vaccine mandate for employees despite the Supreme Court ruling. The move incited customer blowback across the nation.
On Jan. 14, Carhartt CEO Mark Valade announced in an email to staff the company’s vaccine mandate for its 3,000 U.S. employees would remain in place despite the Supreme Court’s decision. The company will allow for religious and medical exemptions, however.
“We put workplace safety at the very top of our priority list, and the Supreme Court’s recent ruling doesn’t impact that core value,” Valade wrote. “An unvaccinated workforce is both a people and business risk that our company is unwilling to take.”
The Carhartt brand is most famous for its rugged jackets and overalls, worn by construction workers, contractors and utility workers — or by politicians looking to boost their blue-collar credibility.
The announcements by Starbucks and Carhartt triggered calls for boycotts of both companies, with people from both sides of the debate either condemning or cheering the decisions.
After Starbucks announced it was dropping its vaccine requirements, the hashtag #BoycottStarbucks began trending on Twitter as users voiced their outrage over the change.
Some customers vowed to avoid Starbucks unless it required its workers get vaccinated, others vowed to go through the line twice per day.
People also took to social media calling for a boycott of Carhartt products.
Federal litigation and appellate attorney Molly McCann tweeted:
State Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R-Fla.) tweeted a memo to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urging him to “eliminate any and all state agency business and contracts.”
Amy Hellebuyck, a Carhartt spokesperson, said in a statement:
“Carhartt fully understands and respects the varying opinions on this topic, and we are aware some of our associates do not support this policy. However, we stand behind our decision because we believe vaccines are necessary to protect our workforce.”
Other companies, including CitiGroup and United Airlines, said they would continue to enforce the COVID vaccine mandate for employees, while large employers like General Electric and Boeing dropped their vaccination requirements in December after a federal judge issued a stay on the mandate.
Many companies, including Target, have been silent on the mandate.
27 attorneys general call for OSHA to drop COVID vaccine mandate
Attorneys general in 27 states on Wednesday sent a letter to OSHA asking the agency to withdraw its ETS for large employers after the Supreme Court upheld an injunction against the mandate.
The Biden administration has not withdrawn the proposed ETS despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, which said OSHA does not have the statutory authority to impose a widespread vaccine mandate.
The letter from the attorneys general stated:
“The Occupational Safety and Health Act was designed to address dangers employees face at work because of their work — not dangers that are no more prevalent at work than in society generally. The United States Supreme Court agrees and held that the ETS — or any similar permanent standard for that matter — fails to address a unique workplace hazard and is therefore unlawful.”
“The Supreme Court made it clear the vaccine mandate is illegal federal overreach,” said Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.
Texas Attorney General Paxton said, “The constitution is clear, it is not lawful to force hard-working Americans to choose between their jobs and family’s financial security, on the one hand, and their physical well-being on the other.”
The coalition of attorneys general is worried the mandate will have detrimental effects on employers and small businesses if it goes into effect.
“The ETS fails to adequately consider the widespread economic damage the vaccine mandate may cause,” the letter stated. “This impact will be especially felt by vulnerable small businesses if a permanent standard applies to them.”
The letter was sent to the agency as part of the federal government’s regulatory process and was joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
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This is like La La Land. Carhart, the brand worn by hard working men is for the mandate and Starbucks, the preferred drink of soi boys is against them. The next thing you know dogs and cats will be living together in peace.
I know right? Carhartt will commit suicide…..oh well.
My wife reminds me that it doesn’t matter who you buy, at the end of the profits are the same owners.
Pretty much.
When I was working our technicians loved it when we got them Carhart jackets for an award.
Ken- True dat, but a BRAND is valuable if people believe it is superior. I came to understand that all bluejeans are made in the same factory(s), they sew various brand labels on but it comes from the same place. Some jeans bring more profit $$$$ than others due to brand.
How superior can it be if it’s made by crazies?
I suspect that Starbucks based their decision on simple economics. They are already having staffing problems and couldn’t risk losing more employees plus make it even harder to hire….
5 Reasons America’s Largest Coffee Chain Is In Turmoil Right Now
Staffing shortages are happening all over the restaurant industry and Starbucks is feeling the effects of this trend tremendously. The chain has recently announced its service will be disrupted for weeks to come….
Starbucks locations have been shutting down and cutting hours for months, and customer complaints are piling up.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/5-reasons-america-s-largest-coffee-chain-is-in-turmoil-right-now/ss-AASYUKS#image=2
B_MC, I think you’re right–labor issues.
Didn’t Starbucks kidnap Juan Valdez?
Could Carhartt be any more stupid? Not only are they going to lose and kill their employees, but also slapping their customers who are overwhelmingly anti-vaxx. They don’t even know who their customers are!. I’ll nominate them for the corporate Darwin award right after I go and short their stock. Dumbass is much too mild a word.
Starbucks chose wisely and Carhartt joined the list of corporations who reveal themselves to be useful idiots for the globalists. Any company that forces employees to take an experimental gene therapy with the worst safety record in the history of vaccines and does not nothing to stop the illness or the spread of it can not be allowed to operate in a free country. They have lost our business and will never get it back.
Any latest word on Kroger’s mandate to their employees.
I had to give up on our local work wear store and Costco for jeans when they started putting lycra/spandex/elastane/stretch material in them like women’s jeans. Carhartt jeans were 100% cotton, didn’t want to fall off like the ones with stretch in them and wore far longer than the previous work wear or Costco ones. Last time I ordered new jeans, I found some Carhartt jean styles had also added stretch to them. I made a note to make sure I got the all cotton ones, but a vaccine mandate on employees is too far for me.
It’s too bad I’ll have to go looking for a new brand; Carhartt has good products but their company is run by a**holes who deserve to go broke.
In other news Trudeau says the people in the Truckers Convoy are a small, fringe minority on their way to Ottawa who hold unacceptable views and are undermining the rights, freedoms and values of Canada. I guess their million plus ranks can join us uneducated, misogynist racist pure bloods in Trudeau’s re-education camps. Ironically, I bet a lot of people in that Truckers Convoy are wearing Carhartt clothing right now.
…. the momentum is building.
I want to believe…but it’s hard RiNS, real hard.
Here in Ontario, Premier Ford, who was supposed end all mandates in a couple months, said today he’s not sure when they’ll go away. Meanwhile many US states are fully open and the UK is due to fully open along with many other places around the world. People I’ve known have killed and attempted to kill themselves because of lockdowns, too many non-chain businesses have folded where I live, and still the madness continues.
Who does Carhartt think buys their products? Vaxholes or people who actually work for a living?
They may have woke’d themselves into bankruptcy.
I get my jeans at the thrift store run by the local hospital auxiliary. Pay $1 for lightly used; $2 for new, unused Levis. Always wash and dry thoroughly before wearing.
Always liked Carhartt coats. Will pass them by now.
I get most of my clothes from the thrift store too. I can pick up a pair of almost brand-new jeans for less than a dollar when they have half-price days. As per 100% cotton, check out Rustler brand from Walmart. 100% cotton and cheap, like $12 a pair. The same people making Wrangler and Lee make Rustler.
I never really cared much for Carhartt, too stiff and bulky. I picked up a North Face down parka for six bucks at the local thrift store, ditto for other jackets and winter wear. I also grab any and all wool blankets, there were many made for JCPenney in the day. When I lived in Taos, the local indians would wrap themselves in cotton blankets from the JCP store on the square.
Maybe they’re hoping Neil Young will start sporting Carhartt stuff.
Starbucks has long been shrouded in controversy including being “liberal” rags. I bought one cup of black coffee from the chain as a matter of total convenience and only ONCE. No jab probably won’t hide these folks “record”.
Check it out.
“In January 2012, a Starbucks executive stated that the company supports the legalization of same-sex marriage.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Starbucks
Further on Starbucks perhaps to the disappointment of Trump supporters (NAH).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Starbucks
“On January 27, 2017,[110] President Donald Trump signed an executive order to indefinitely suspend the entry of Syrian refugees into the United States and suspended entry into the United States of nearly all citizens of seven countries until “extreme vetting” measures could be implemented.[111] The same day, Starbucks’ Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz wrote a letter to Starbucks’ employees, stating in part, “There are more than 65 million citizens of the world recognized as refugees by the United Nations, and we are developing plans to hire 10,000 of them over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business. And we will start this effort here in the U.S. by making the initial focus of our hiring efforts on those individuals who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel in the various countries where our military has asked for such support.”[112] As a result of Schultz’s letter, supporters of President Trump’s executive order supported a boycott of Starbucks, with some saying that Starbucks should give more help to American veterans.[113][114]”
Looking at the tag on my older Carhartt jacket with hood I see it was made in Mexico from US products. Must have been from the previous NAFTA agreement. It’s too bulky and I burn up in it if moving around. I much prefer my Levi’s “flight jacket”. It’s made in China and was a gift.
Maybe you should video yourself dousing it with lighter fluid and torching it. Send that around the internets.
I would not do that. It might catch you on fire. 🙂
I’m guessing any company pulling this stunt is getting some heavy subsidies from the government.
Never thought of that. Probably right. The government that bought and paid for its own news coverage (Operation Mockingbird) certainly wouldn’t be above it.
If you think about it why did either one of them have to announce anything. Brands/companies start thinking they are more important than they are because they’re immersed in their own little world in which a big part is marketing.
Of course they could be beholden and were told what to do.
In any case it may open up the market to smaller companies of work clothes which is good (although we like car hart stuff). This is what happened with us in the early 2000’s and we jumped in the niche that opened up- both my husband and and I thought of this immediately.