OHSA Issues Emergency Temporary Standard for Employer Vaccine Mandates
On Friday, November 5, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS), requiring certain employers to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for all employees or obtain weekly COVID-19 test results for unvaccinated employees. OSHA also issued a Fact Sheet and FAQs regarding the ETS.
The ETS applies to employers with 100 or more employees and imposes several obligations upon such employers, including:
Requiring employers to implement a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy or require employees who are not fully vaccinated to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing and wear face coverings in the workplace.
Requiring employers to maintain records of each COVID-19 test.
Requiring employers to provide employees with up to four hours of paid time off to receive each vaccine dose and a reasonable amount of paid sick leave for employees to recover from side effects of the vaccine.
Requiring employers to determine the vaccination status of each employee, obtain proof of each employee’s vaccination status, and maintain a roster of each employee’s vaccination status.
Violations of the ETS carry penalties of up to $14,000 per violation.
Employers must comply with ETS testing requirement by January 4, 2022, and most other provisions of the ETS by December 5, 2021.
Employers subject to the ETS should be aware that the ETS has been subject to several legal challenges and has been temporarily stayed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Nevertheless, given the short time frames for employers to comply, and the significant penalties for violations, employers should immediately begin to implement policies that would comply with the ETS, while also monitoring the status of the legal challenges to the validity of the ETS.
If you have questions about your business’s COVID-19 obligations, please contact us at (201) 345-5412 or through our online scheduling system to set up a complimentary consultation.