On November 5, 2021, OSHA published, in the federal register, its highly anticipated COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) which covers employers with 100 or more employees. The ETS generally requires, among other things, covered employers to do the following:
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Determine the vaccination status of each employee, obtain acceptable proof of vaccination status from vaccinated employees and maintain records and a roster of each employee’s vaccination status.
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Require employees to provide prompt notice when they test positive for COVID-19 or receive a COVID-19 diagnosis. Employers must then remove such employees from the workplace, regardless of vaccination status and they must not be allowed to return to work until they meet specified requirements.
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Ensure each worker who is not fully vaccinated be tested for COVID-19 at least weekly (if the worker is in the workplace at least once a week) or within 7 days before returning to work (if the worker is away from the workplace for a week or longer).
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Ensure that, in most situations, each employee who has not been fully vaccinated wears a face covering when indoors or when occupying a vehicle with another person for work purposes.
Join John Ho as he discusses:
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Background of ETS (5 minutes)
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Update on legal challenges and OSHA’s authority to issue the ETS (5 minutes)
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Coverage issues, e.g., how is the 100 employee threshold determined and application to state-sponsored OSHA plans (5 minutes)
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Overview of ETS requirements and compliance deadlines (35 minutes)
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Update on recording and reporting of confirmed COVID-19 cases (5 minutes)
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Addressing whistleblower and retaliation concerns (5 minutes)