OSHA's New COVID Vaccine Rules (in brief)
Its official: OSHA published their Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on Nov 5th, 2021.
Regardless of your company’s size the guidelines are worth considering, and as of 12/5, companies with 100+ employees must implement policies and processes to meet the following requirements:
Either enforce mandatory vaccination OR require employees to complete weekly testing and wear a face mask at work instead of vaccination (UNLESS the employee works outdoors or only works from home).
Keep “acceptable proof” of each employee’s vaccination status (e.g. vaccination card).
Pay up to 4 hrs PTO to obtain vaccinations, and pay sick leave to recover in the event of vaccination side-effects.
As of Jan 5th, employees not fully vaccinated and who visit the workplace at least 1 day/week, must be tested weekly, and provide those results to their employer.
Employees are required to notify their employer of a COVID positive test, and employees must remain home until a negative test is completed.
Employers have 8 hours to report any work-related COVID fatalities, and 24 hours to report COVID in-patient hospitalization of an employee.
Employers must provide “Key things to know about COVID-19 Vaccines” from the cdc.gov website to all employees.
