One of President Biden’s Path out of the Pandemic pillars, “Vaccinating the Unvaccinated” has finally come to fruition! As we previously wrote about in our article “President Biden’s Path out of the Pandemic,” President Biden’s goal has been focused on businesses and employers bearing the responsibility of implementing and furthering this goal. Now employers have insight on what this will mean for their businesses and workplace.
Today, OSHA published their Emergency Temporary Standards that outline the who, what, when and how. This new OSHA Covid-19 requirement will apply to all employers with a total of 100 or more employees (part-time, full-time or remote). Employers who meet this threshold will be required to have their employees be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 (including providing paid time off to get the vaccine or recover from post-vaccine related symptoms) or require those unvaccinated employees be tested regularly and wear a mask in the workplace. While there are some exceptions to OSHA’s Covid-19 vaccine requirement, employers are required to comply as soon as possible. However, employers will not be subject to the significant OSHA fines until December 4th in relation to implementing a written vaccine policy in the workplace. In addition, employers will have until January 4, 2022 to comply with weekly their employee testing requirement for those employees who choose to remain unvaccinated.
Given this expedited timeline to comply with OSHA’s requirements, it is important that you properly implement your Covid-19 vaccine policy in writing as soon as possible and understand what your requirements and responsibility are as an employer to minimize your legal risks. Contact the the Employer Lawyers at Chauvel & Glatt to assist you in this process.
The material in this article, provided by Chauvel & Glatt, is designed to provide informative and current information as of the date of the post. It should not be considered, nor is it intended to constitute, legal advice or promise similar outcomes. For information on your particular circumstances, please contact Chauvel & Glatt at 650-573-9500. (photo credit: 123rf.com)
