For NYC businesses, vaccine mandates put damper on holiday

NEW YORK (AP) — A surprise year-end decree by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ordering virtually all businesses in his city to get workers vaccinated has sowed confusion and frustration — and could set off a mad holiday dash to force vaccine holdouts to choose between jabs or jobs.

Tens of thousands of unvaccinated New Yorkers and their employers are now thrust into an unwelcome reckoning over the mandate, set to go into effect two days after Christmas.

Francisco Marte, who employs 16 people at three bodegas across the Bronx, is in a precarious position: Force the shots on his few unvaccinated workers, or fire them.

“It’s going to be hard to force them to do it,” said Marte, who voiced defiance should the city follow through with the edict. “I’m not going to lose a good employee because of de Blasio’s orders.”

Like many business owners, he was taken by surprise by the mayor’s announcement Monday that the city would require an additional 184,000 businesses, from nail salons to big Wall Street firms, to join restaurants, bars, theaters and other public establishments in requiring vaccines for workers as a condition of employment.

With just weeks left in office, de Blasio said the mandate will take effect Dec. 27. In-person workers need to provide proof they have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Workers would not be able to opt out with COVID-19 testing, although waivers would be considered for religious or medical reasons.

The mayor said details about how businesses will report workers' vaccination status would be forthcoming next Wednesday, leaving companies just a few business days to figure out implementation.

Among other things, companies have to invent a process for asking employees about their vaccination status, documenting proof of vaccination and...