February 1, 2022 Update: OSHA withdrew its Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard and will focus on a permanent COVID-19 Healthcare Standard.

January 14, 2022 Update: OSHA releases a statement about the Supreme Court blocking OSHA’s ETS.

December 20, 2021 Update: OSHA is gratified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved the Fifth Circuit’s stay of the Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard. OSHA can now once again implement this vital workplace health standard, which will protect the health of workers by mitigating the spread of the unprecedented virus in the workplace. To provide employers with sufficient time to come into compliance, OSHA will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements of the ETS before January 10 and will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard’s testing requirements before February 9, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard. 

November 12, 2021 Update: the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a motion to stay OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, published on November 5, 2021 (86 Fed. Reg. 61402) (“ETS”). The court ordered that OSHA “take no steps to implement or enforce” the ETS “until further court order.” While OSHA remains confident in its authority to protect workers in emergencies, OSHA has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation.

November 8, 2021 Update: Since this article was published, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has put a temporary halt to OSHA’s emergency temporary standard on COVID-19 vaccination, testing and masking by granting an emergency motion Nov. 5. 

Original Post on November 5th

Breaking OSHA News: Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on Protecting Employees from COVID-19

On November 4, 2021, OSHA announced its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on protecting employees from the COVID-19 virus, which goes into effect on November 5, 2021.

Biden administration identifies COVID-19 as an occupational health hazard. Check out OSHA’s Fact Sheet for more information.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is issuing an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to protect the unvaccinated employees of large employers (100 or more employees), from the risk of contracting COVID-19 by strongly encouraging vaccination. OSHA has determined that many employees in the U.S. who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 face grave danger from exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in the workplace. This finding is based on the severe health consequences associated with exposure to the virus, along with evidence demonstrating the transmissibility of the virus, and the prevalence of infections in employee populations. Covered employers must develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. There is an exception; unvaccinated employees may undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work.

Deadline: January 4th, 2022

Summary of What Establishments Are Impacted

  1. Employers with at least 100 employees will be required to adopt a mandatory vaccination policy unless they adopt a policy requiring unvaccinated workers to undergo weekly testing and wear a face covering at work.
  2. Covered employers must provide paid time for workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine and ensure workers have paid sick leave to recover from any side effects that prevent them from working.
  3. Employers must comply with most provisions by 30 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register, and comply with the testing requirement by 60 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register.
  4. Businesses that don’t comply may face significant OSHA fines.

Effective Dates for OSHA COVID-19 Requirements 

 
Requirement 30 days after publication 60 days after publication
Establish policy on vaccination (paragraph (d))

X
Determine vaccination status of each employee, obtain acceptable proof of vaccination, maintain records and roster of vaccination status (paragraph (e))

X
Provide support for employee vaccination (paragraph (f))

X
Ensure employees who are not fully vaccinated are tested for COVID-19 at least weekly (if in the workplace at least once a week) or within 7 days before returning to work (if away from the workplace for a week or longer)

(paragraph (g))

X
Require employees to promptly provide notice of positive COVID-19 test or COVID-19 diagnosis (paragraph (h))

X
Remove any employee who received positive COVID-19 test or COVID-19 diagnosis (paragraph (h))

X
Ensure employees who are not fully vaccinated wear face coverings when indoors or when occupying a vehicle with another person for work purposes (paragraph (i))

X
Provide each employee information about the ETS; workplace policies and procedures; vaccination efficacy, safety and benefits; protections against retaliation and discrimination; and laws that provide for criminal penalties for knowingly supplying false documentation (paragraph (j))

X
Report work-related COVID-19 fatalities to OSHA within 8 hours and work-related COVID-19 in-patient hospitalizations within 24 hours (paragraph (k))

X
Make certain records available (paragraph (l))

X

For frequently asked questions, check out OSHA’s FAQ page here.

Employers: if you have not developed, implemented, and enforced the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, contact Lancaster Safety today at (724) 776-1003.