Labor & Employment Developments Blog

OSHA issued its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) effective November 5, 2021. The ETS requires employers with 100 employees or more to require employees be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing and wear masks. The ETS requires that covered employers begin complying by December 5, 2021 (other than testing) and sets a deadline to begin testing employees who are not fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022. The rule and related materials, including FAQs and policy templates, can be found here. 

Employers should bear in mind that despite having a short time frame for compliance, the ETS will be subject to immediate legal challenges. This combination of urgency and uncertainty means that covered employers should make planning their approach to the ETS a high priority.

In this episode, the following questions will be considered:

• What employers are covered?
• What if employee numbers fluctuate above and below 100 employees?
• How should companies count the employees of their related entities?
• What employees are covered?
• What are covered employers required to do?
• What are the requirements for employee testing?
• Who pays for the tests?
• What are the masking requirements for unvaccinated employees?
• What must covered employers communicate to their employees?
• What are the reporting and record keeping requirements?
• Does the ETS address state laws that prohibit vaccine mandates or otherwise contradict its requirements?

 You can read more about the ETS here.

You can listen to the episode here.