White House press secretary Jen Psaki gave no inclination on Thursday that the administration would be willing to budge on the vaccine mandate issued by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), despite pleas from the U.S. Postal Service.
“OSHA issued an emergency temporary standard to protect workers from the spread of coronavirus on the job everywhere at companies, including the Postal Service,” she said, referring to the directive that will impact millions of workers.
“And the agency found that compliance with the rule was feasible for all employers, including the Postal Service,” the press secretary added.
Psaki’s comments come one day after Deputy Postmaster General Douglas Tulino wrote a letter to the administration requesting a 120-day waiver from the vaccine mandate.
Tulino alleged the directive could have a “potentially catastrophic impact” on the already strained mail system.
Psaki said she would allow OSHA to speak on its own guidelines but argued Thursday that the Postal Service was provided “compliance resources” to help it roll out vaccine and testing requirements for all of its employees.