Today’s News & Commentary — August 2, 2021

As Nikita reported this weekend, the federal eviction moratorium has now lapsed. An estimated 11 million renters — a figure which amounts to one in six renters — now stand at risk of eviction. The executive branch is unable to act, per a Supreme Court order that further extensions to the eviction moratorium would require “clear and specific Congressional authorization.” And Congress is not in session.

Last week, both private and public employers have begun to institute vaccine mandates. California was the first, announcing that all state employees must provide proof of vaccination or wear masks and submit to coronavirus testing. On Wednesday, Google, Facebook and Netflix issued vaccine mandates for certain employees. Separately, on Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York’s 130,000 government workers must be vaccinated or face weekly testing. On Thursday, President Biden announced a vaccine mandate for federal workers, “encouraging employers across the private sector to follow this strong model.” Also on Thursday, North Carolina and San Diego County announced a vaccine requirement for its public workforce. And on Friday, Walt Disney Co. and Wal Mart followed suit: all salaried and nonunion hourly Disney employees must be vaccinated within sixty days; all employees at Walmart headquarters, and managers who travel within the United States, must be vaccinated by early October. Wal Mart also doubled its vaccination cash incentive for store and warehouse workers to $150.

California’s SEIU Local 1000 has objected to Governor Newsom’s mandate that all state employees provide proof of vaccination, demanding bargaining on the question of vaccine mandates before the mandate is implemented. Newsom’s order also applies to private-sector health care workers. In New Jersey, health care unions are also demanding bargaining over vaccine mandates issued by private hospitals: mandates are opposed by HPAE, with 14,000 members; 1199SEIU, which represents approximately 8,000 nursing home workers in New Jersey; and JNESO, a professional health workers union of 5,000.