This week the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an interim final rule to require employers with 100 or more employees to ensure each of their workers is full vaccinated or tests negative for COVID at least once a week and wears a face covering at work.
Compliance dates for the OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) are as follows:
- 30 days after publication of the rule in the Federal Register: All requirements other than testing for employees who have not completed their entire primary vaccination dose(s)
- 60 days after publication: Testing for employees who have not received all doses required for a primary vaccination
The ETS requires employers to determine the vaccination status of each employee, obtain an acceptable proof of vaccination, maintain records of each employee’s vaccination status, and maintain a roster of each employee’s vaccination status. The ETS also includes requirements for: employer support for employee vaccination, employee notification to employer of a positive COVID-19 test and removal, face coverings, information provided to employees, reporting COVID-19 fatalities and hospitalizations to OSHA, and availability of records.
Written comments on this rule must be submitted within 30 days after publication. Directions on how to submit written comments are in the attached rule.
White House Press call
White House Fact Sheet
OSHA Webinar on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS
Materials Incorporated by Reference in the OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS
OSHA About the ETS Fact Sheet
OSHA ETS Summary
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also issued a rule requiring healthcare workers at facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid to be fully vaccinated.
CMS Press Release
CMS Interim Final Rule
And, lastly, the White House announced that it will be aligning the deadline for the previously announced requirement for employees of federal contractors to be fully vaccinated with these new OSHA and CMS rules. This single, consistent deadline across all three requirements is January 4, 2022. Any employee covered by the CMS or federal contractor requirement must have their final vaccination dose by January 4th. And employers covered by the OSHA rule will need to ensure their employees have received their finally vaccination dose by January 4th, with at least weekly testing required for unvaccinated employees after that.