Sep 15, 2021
On September 9, 2021, an Executive Order from President Joe Biden was issued, requiring all US employers with 100 or more employees to require COVID-19 vaccinations or a weekly negative test result before coming to work. This is all available in the six part Path Out of the Pandemic plan, the White House’s COVID-19 Action Plan which focuses on expanding vaccinations, improving care for COVID-19 patients, opening schools safely as well as protecting the economic recovery.
Vaccination or Weekly Testing Requirement
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been tasked with developing a rule that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work. OSHA will issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to implement this requirement within the next 30-60 days after the announcement. This requirement will impact over 80 million workers in private sector businesses with 100+ employees. Covered employers who choose to ignore the standard could face OSHA citations and penalties of up to $14,000 per violation.
Paid Time Off for Vaccinations
To continue efforts to ensure that no worker loses a dollar of pay because they get vaccinated, OSHA is developing a rule that will require employers with more than 100 employees to provide paid time off for the time it takes for workers to get vaccinated or to recover if they are under the weather post-vaccination. This requirement will be implemented through the ETS.
Healthcare Workers
In addition, Biden will announce that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will require COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in most health care settings that receive Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement, including but not limited to hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical settings and home health agencies.
Additional Requirements for Federal Workers/Contractors
Further, the President also will unveil an executive order that requires all federal workers and contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19. This step expands on the President’s July requirement that provided regular testing as an acceptable option to vaccination. Federal contractor includes companies who have contracts or sub-contracts with federal agencies.
Many Unanswered Questions
Some of the biggest unanswered questions for employers at this point include:
- How will the 100-employee threshold be counted?
- Will private employers be required to collect proof of vaccination?
- What type of testing will be required and who pays for the testing?
- Will remote employees be covered?
- What acommadations can be made for employees with religious or disability related exemptions?
This alert provided by Guardian HR Compliance by Benefit Comply. For more information on employer HR compliance support please visit https://benefitcomply.com/hr-support/.
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