FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas System has proposed certain language "which is not inconsistent with state law" to federal agencies in response to President Joe Biden's executive order requiring federal contractors to have workers vaccinated against covid-19, said Donald Bobbitt, the system's president.
Covid-19 vaccine mandates have been restricted by state lawmakers, and Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge joined nine other states on Oct. 29 in a lawsuit seeking to block the Sept. 9 executive order.
"We find ourselves caught between an executive order from the president and state law. And I would say, in an ideal world, I'm going to try to cut the baby in half and both halves live," Bobbitt said Friday.
The UA System responded with a proposal when federal authorities "required us to attest to a certain status for our employees," Bobbitt said.
"We have suggested some language, which is not inconsistent with state law, and we've asked the federal agencies to consider incorporating our language into the document in place of what they have," Bobbitt said, adding, "we have not heard back yet."
Federal authorities on Thursday pushed a deadline back a month to Jan. 4 for federal contractors to have workers fully vaccinated. The order applies broadly to federal contractors, including small businesses.
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The UA System, along with many other large universities, is the recipient of federal contracts.
A UA System spokesman has acknowledged that about $120 million in federal contracts may be subject to the requirements set forth in the executive order. Large universities in nearby states including Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee have announced that because of the executive order, all or some of their employees are required to be vaccinated against covid-19.
An Arkansas state law, Act 977, generally prohibits state agencies from mandating covid-19 vaccines, while another state law, Act 1115, passed in October will require employers mandating covid-19 vaccination to also provide exemptions if workers get tested weekly for the coronavirus or present proof of "immunity," such as the presence of antibodies, or a previously positive covid-19 test result.
Other large public universities in the state have said in recent days they continue to review Biden's order, Executive Order 14042.
"Arkansas Tech University is still in the process of evaluating executive order 14042 and how its provisions may apply to any applicable federal contracts between ATU and the U.S. government," spokesman Sam Strasner said in an email Friday.
OSHA REQUIREMENTS
Also on Thursday, federal authorities spelled out a Jan. 4 deadline for a different set of Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements for certain employers with 100 or more workers.
These requirements include providing proof that workers are fully vaccinated against covid-19 or, after Jan. 4, requiring unvaccinated employees to test weekly for covid-19.
The OSHA-enforced requirements do not apply to Arkansas public universities.
Rutledge has also joined with attorneys general in 10 other states in a legal challenge to this mandate.
Private universities in the state on Friday mostly described ongoing efforts to review the requirements.
John Brown University "is reviewing the lengthy official guidance before determining the specifics of our plan for employees," Julie Gumm, a spokeswoman for the private Christian university in Siloam Springs, said in an email.
"We also expect there will be a variety of legal challenges that unfold, and we will be monitoring those as well," Gumm added. She said Friday that the university's records show 71% of faculty and staff fully vaccinated against covid-19.
At Ouachita Baptist University, "conversations are continuing about the federal guidance, and we hope to know more in coming days," spokeswoman Brooke Zimny said in an email. The university is located in Arkadelphia.
Zimny said that for a certain group of employees -- those eligible for benefits -- 92% are fully vaccinated against covid-19.
Larry Isch, a spokesman for the University of the Ozarks, said Friday in an email the university "has had in place Covid-19 vaccination/testing policies and practices throughout this fall semester that we believe are already in compliance with the new OSHA guidelines."
Isch explained that covid-19 testing is done weekly for employees -- or students -- who are not vaccinated against covid-19. The University of the Ozarks is located in Clarksville.
As of Friday, "we have 168 faculty and staff fully vaccinated out of 200 employees (84 percent)," Isch said.