Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Our business, operations, and financial condition are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The risk factors described in Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31, 2020, should be carefully considered, together with the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in our other filings with the SEC in connection with evaluating Chesapeake Utilities, our business and the forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of employees or testing of employees could impact our workforce and have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced a proposed new rule requiring all employers with at least 100 employees to require that their employees be fully vaccinated or tested weekly. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) is currently drafting an emergency regulation (the “OSHA Regulation”) to carry out this mandate, which is expected to take effect in the coming weeks. At this time, it is unclear, among other things, if the OSHA Regulation will apply to all employees or only to certain employees, or how compliance will be documented.
In addition, on September 9, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order (the “Executive Order”) requiring all employers with U.S. Government contracts to ensure that their U.S.-based employees, contractors, and subcontractors, that work on or in support of U.S. Government contracts, are fully vaccinated by December 8, 2021.
At this time, it is not possible to predict with certainty the nature and extent to which we will be subject to the OSHA Regulation or Executive Order, or impact that the OSHA Regulation or Executive Order will have on us or on our workforce. Additional vaccine mandates may be announced in other jurisdictions in which we operate, or by governmental agencies with which we provide services. Implementation of these requirements by us may result in employee attrition, including attrition of critically skilled labor, absenteeism within our skilled labor force, challenges securing future labor needs, inefficiencies connected to employee turnover, and costs associated with implementation and on-going compliance, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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