TAMPA, Fla. — President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all businesses with more than 100 employees is facing a delay after several groups including the international truckers association, retailers and others asked the White House to delay the rollout until after the holidays.

Several employers say the mandate could impact efforts to rehire employees, snarl retailers and cause more problems with the supply chain.

What You Need To Know

  • Most major employers in the Bay area are still not requiring employees to be vaccinated

  • Some Bay area employers facing mandate requirements are breathing a sigh of relief as WH facing a delay

  • More Coronavirus headlines

Some Bay area employers facing mandate requirements are breathing a sigh of relief, as a delay will give them more time to implement strategies and determine how they will pay for mandatory testing should employees refuse the vaccine.

"It's such a complicated mandate for HR people and managers in general," said Alexis Muellner, editor of our partners the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

"I think the more time you can get to put these in place is advantageous from a business leader or organizational leader of individuals," Muellner said.   "But the fact is these are inevitable and in the broad vision you have to keep in mind that this is a tough place for the administration, for anyone to be.   Because we really all want to get back to whatever the new normal is."

Most major employers in the Bay area are still not requiring employees to be vaccinated as they wait for the President's mandate to be published to the federal registry.

Until the mandate is listed in the registry, it isn't enforceable and isn't considered law.

BayCare's CEO Tommy Inzina wrote an open letter to the community in September saying in part, "In this moment with the strain on our team, we believed a mandate could have a negative impact on health care access for our community."

BayCare says it is strongly encouraging employers to get vaccinated, however not requiring it until the government says so.

AdventHealth is also encouraging staff to get the shot, however it is waiting for further federal guidance before making the vaccine mandatory.

In a statement, AdventHealth said, "We are waiting for details on how it will be implemented and closely monitoring legal challenges in the states we serve that may impact our compliance.​"

​If the mandatory vaccine mandate is delayed, it would likely not happen until late January of 2022 and would include a grace period for employers to put rules in place for employees.