West DSM News

Gov. Kim Reynolds praised the Iowa Division of Labor’s decision not to adhere to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration vaccine mandate.

Des Moines’s ABC affiliate KCRG reported that as the U.S. Supreme Court listened to oral arguments over the mandate’s legality, Iowa Labor Commissioner Rod Roberts asserted the state will not enforce it.

“As a state plan state, the Iowa Division of Labor is charged with protecting the health and safety of those in the workplace and has the authority to enforce workplace safety and health standards for Iowa businesses,” Roberts said, according to KCRG. “Iowa doesn’t have a standard requiring the COVID-19 vaccine or testing. But after closely reviewing the federal OSHA vaccine mandate, Iowa has determined it will not adopt the federal standard. Iowa has concluded that it is not necessary because Iowa’s existing standards are at least as effective as the federal standard change.”

Reynolds, a Republican, lauded Roberts and vowed the state will continue to protect the freedoms and liberties of Iowans.

“The (President Joe) Biden administration continues to ignore the constitutional rights afforded to all Americans, which our country was built on,” Reynolds said in a release issued by her office. “Instead, they’d rather dictate health care decisions and eliminate personal choice, causing our businesses and employees to suffer and exacerbating our workforce shortage.”

Given Roberts’s decision, Iowa employers and their employees don’t have to comply with the federal vaccine mandate.