Updated (11/12/2021)
"On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a motion to stay OSHA's COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, published on November 5, 2021 (86 Fed. Reg. 61402) ("ETS"). The court ordered that OSHA "take no steps to implement or enforce" the ETS "until further court order." While OSHA remains confident in its authority to protect workers in emergencies, OSHA has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation."
OSHA.gov COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS Webpage
Update (11/05/2021)
OSHA's emergency temporary standard concerning employee vaccination and testing for employers with 100 or more employees was published to the Federal Register on November 5, 2021.
Read the Interim Final Rule: Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS)
Update (11/01/2021)
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has concluded its review of OSHA's emergency temporary standard concerning employee vaccination and testing for large employers. A Rule could appear this week in the Federal Register. Lion will update this post when OSHA publishes a Final Rule.
Public and private sector stakeholder meetings ended on October 29. OSHA met with industry associations, law firms, state and local Chambers of Commerce, large employers with covered workers nationwide, and others.
Update (10/13/2021)
OSHA submitted its emergency temporary standard concerning vaccination and COVID-19 testing for covered employers to OMB for review on October 12, 2021 (
View at reginfo.gov).
A Final Rule will appear in the
Federal Register following approval.
Original post (9/13/2021)
According to the
White House website, President Biden has ordered the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a vaccination mandate for certain private, large employers as part of a comprehensive COVID-19 strategy.
The President seeks to reduce the number of unvaccinated Americans by using regulatory power. As part of this initiative, OSHA is slated to publish an “emergency temporary standard” in the
Federal Register compelling private employers with 100 or more workers to ensure their employees are vaccinated, or the company will be required to conduct weekly testing of unvaccinated employees.
The administration will require these same employers to provide paid time off to allow workers to get vaccinated or to recover if they become sick after receiving the shot.
This mandate is expected to affect tens of millions of workers. The new regulation is intended to deal with the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus that is causing more than 150,000 new COVID-19 cases and 1,500 deaths every day in the US.
Does OSHA Have Authority?
Does OSHA have the authority to enact these standards? According to their website, “Under certain limited conditions, OSHA is authorized to set
emergency temporary standards that take effect immediately and are in effect until superseded by a permanent standard.” OSHA must determine that workers are in grave danger and that an emergency standard is needed to protect them.
The Procedure
The agency will publish the emergency temporary standard requiring vaccinations in the
Federal Register. When they do so, it will also serve as a proposed rule subject to the usual rulemaking procedures – with the difference that if a final rule is enacted, it must be promulgated within six months of publication.
The validity of an emergency temporary standard may be challenged in an appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals.
COVID-19 Safety Awareness Online Training
To help US workplaces safely resume and continue operations, Lion launched the
COVID-19 Employee Safety Awareness Online Course. The course is designed to help satisfy training mandates for employees concerning COVID-19,
preparing employees to:
- Recognize signs, symptoms, and risk factors for COVID-19.
- Describe how the COVID-19 disease is transmitted.
- Follow recommended hygiene and work protocols to prevent exposure.
- Properly use and care for PPE and face coverings, when required.
This self-paced online course is updated regularly to reflect evolving information on COVID-19 workplace exposure. As more employees nationwide return to work, it is crucial that they know how to protect themselves and their co-workers from exposure to COVID-19.