OSHA Gives Workers Until Jan. 4 to Comply With Biden’s COVID Vaccine Mandate, Lawmakers Tee Up Lawsuits
Megan Redshaw
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued an emergency temporary standard giving employers with more than 100 employees, which affects 84 million workers, until Jan. 4 to comply w
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) giving employers with more than 100 employees until Jan. 4 to comply with President Biden’s COVID vaccine mandate.
The mandate covers more than 84 million workers and two-thirds of the nation’s private-sector workforce.The 490-page rule, which will be published in the Federal Register on Nov. 5, says:
“covered employers must develop, implement and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, with an exception for employers that instead adopt a policy requiring employees to either get vaccinated or elect to undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work in lieu of vaccination.”
According to The Washington Post, the rule requires weekly testing and mandatory face masks for workers who choose not to get vaccinated. It also requires employers to provide paid time off for workers to get vaccinated or recover from any side effects.
However, employees who choose not to get vaccinated must foot the bill for tests, officials said. There is also no exception to the vaccine mandate for those who have natural immunity from previous Sars-CoV-2 infection.
The OSHA rule “requires employers to determine the vaccination status of each employee, obtain acceptable proof of vaccination, maintain records of each employee’s vaccination status and maintain a roster of each e.......
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