The U.S. Postal Service is asking for a temporary waiver from President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate, warning it could result in “substantial harm” to the beleaguered supply chain.
In a letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration dated Tuesday, Deputy Postmaster General Douglas Tulino argued that imposition of the vaccine-or-testing edict just days from now would likely “result in the loss of many employees — either by employees leaving or being disciplined — particularly given the higher level of temporary employees at this time of year.”
“We respectfully suggest that the nation cannot afford the additional potential substantial harm that would be engendered if the ability of the Postal Service to deliver mail and packages is significantly negatively impacted,” he added in the letter.
Postal Service spokeswoman Darlene Casey told Fox News that officials are worried a mail delivery backlog could worsen existing problems.
“The Postal Service is seeking temporary relief because it wants to ensure that its ability to deliver mail and packages is not hindered amid the current disruptions in the nation’s supply chain,” Casey said.
In September, Biden announced that businesses with more than 100 employees must institute a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, although they have the option to provide weekly testing results as an alternative.
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The new rules, known as an emergency temporary standard, are set to go into effect on Monday, meaning Tulino’s temporary exemption request to OSHA is cutting it close to the wire. The USPS has more than 31,000 retail locations across the country and employs hundreds of thousands of employees.
Tulino is asking OSHA to push back the compliance deadlines by nearly four months and temporarily halt the Postal Service’s participation in the requirement until the court system has determined whether the vaccine-or-test order is legal.
“Given our essential role to the nation, particularly during these challenging times, we believe that it is critical to avoid disruption to our vital operations,” Tulino continued in the letter. “For that reason, we are seeking temporary relief from the ETS and maintenance of the status quo on an interim basis.”
While the mandate is set to go into effect next week, OSHA has said it wouldn’t start issuing citations for violations until about a month later. Biden’s mandate faces legal challenges, and the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the matter on Friday.
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“While the legal validity of the ETS is currently being challenged in federal court, the Postal Service is taking several steps to ensure it can fully comply with the requirements of the ETS, as quickly as possible, assuming the ETS is upheld,” Tulino said.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment on Tulino’s letter.
