Do the OSHA COVID Vaccine Mandates ETS Apply to Your Company?
November 22nd, 2021
Please note: On Saturday, November 6, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals placed a temporary hold on the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring COVID vaccination or testing for employees of employers with 100 or more employees. The current ruling is temporary, but there are likely to be updates soon. MP will update our materials accordingly. In the interim, our HR services experts recommend employers continue to prepare in case these deadlines are upheld.
Employers who are keeping up to date on the COVID vaccine mandates may be confused about whether they’re covered by OSHA’s recent Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). Workplaces covered by the ETS must create and enforce employee policies that require either COVID vaccination or weekly COVID testing. (Of course, to remain ADA compliant, policies must allow employees to request medical exceptions, as well as religious exceptions.) MP’s HR compliance experts share two considerations to assist employers in determining if they need to meet the ETS’s HR and compliance requirements.
1. Employer size
OSHA’s ETS covers employers with 100 or more employees. Employers have had many questions about how to determine their employee count. They must include these employees:
- Part-time
- Full-time
- Remote
- Hybrid-remote
- Seasonal
- Temporary employees not obtained from a staffing agency
- Union employees
Note that employers may be covered because they have over 100 employees. However, it’s possible some (or even all) of their employees won’t be required to get vaccinated or test for COVID weekly. Even if employees are included in the 100 count, they may be exempted from the ETS requirements.
2. Exemptions
Some employers may not be covered by OSHA’s ETS, even if they have 100 or more employees. This is because they are required to meet other COVID vaccine mandate regulations. Two specific groups must comply with their own COVID safety requirements:
- Employers covered by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force COVID-19 Workplace Safety: Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors
- Employers covered by the Healthcare ETS
Employers who fall under these two categories are required to meet the (more stringent) stipulations and deadlines set by the Healthcare ETS and the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force COVID-19 Workplace Safety guidelines.
Aside from employers, specific categories of employees may be exempt from the requirements of OSHA’s ETS:
- Employees who work alone— these employees have no (in-person) contact with coworkers, clients, or customers during their workday
- Employees who work from home exclusively
- Employees who work outdoors exclusively
Employers must carry out the requirements of the ETS if they have over 100 employees, even some staff are exempt from the ETS requirements because they work from home, work outside, etc. Employees who report to the office or workplace and have contact with coworkers, clients, etc., must be vaccinated or get tested weekly for COVID and wear a mask in the office.
Employers OSHA’s ETS doesn’t cover
There are employers that don’t fall into the below categories:
- Employers with 100 or more employees covered by OSHA’s ETS
- Employers covered by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force COVID-19 Workplace Safety: Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors
- Employers covered by the Healthcare ETS
These employers are not subject to the requirements of the COVID vaccine mandates. Employers not subject to the vaccine mandates may reduce risk and exposure by simply encouraging vaccination and masking in the workplace (rather than mandating it). Some employers that aren’t subject to the COVID vaccine mandates may choose to develop mandatory COVID vaccination or testing policies for their employee handbooks anyways. These employers should work with an employment attorney and HR services experts (such as MP’s).
Recent Posts
- Understanding the Role of Mental Health in Today’s Workplace, for Business Leaders
- The Current Climate of Home Healthcare: Challenges and Opportunities
- Workforce Planning is a Team Sport: Collaborating for Success
- Top Ways to Leverage Technology for Workforce Planning
- Workforce Planning 101: Your Guide to an Effective Strategy
Categories
- ACA (10)
- AI (5)
- BizFeed (6)
- Business Strategy (119)
- COBRA (5)
- Compliance (168)
- COVID-19 (92)
- Diversity (12)
- eBooks (19)
- Employee Engagement (33)
- Employee Handbooks (24)
- ERTC (29)
- FFCRA (7)
- HR (306)
- MP Insider (13)
- Payroll (88)
- PFML (9)
- PPP (24)
- PTO (5)
- Recruiting (53)
- Remote Work (39)
- Return to Work (32)
- Unemployment (1)
- Wellness (22)
Archives
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020