Exploring the meaning of OSHA’s new vaccination rule

A new rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fills in many details of the Biden administration’s plan to get some 84 million employees around the country vaccinated against COVID-19. The rule, published in the Federal Register on November 5, is in the form of an emergency temporary standard (ETS). It became effective the day it was published, and it sets a January 4, 2022, deadline for covered employees to be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. The entire ETS is 490 pages. This article highlights only certain key requirements.

Coverage

The ETS answers questions about which employers are covered, exemptions, and effective dates.

Who must comply. The ETS applies to employers with at least 100 employees at any point on or after the effective date. It attempts to eliminate potential employer efforts to exempt themselves by reducing the number of employees after the effective date.

Covered employers include not only those subject to OSHA’s general industry and construction standards but also employers subject to the agency’s shipyards, marine terminals, and longshoring standards. Employers subject to the agricultural standards need to comply only if 11 or more employees are engaged on any given day in hand-labor operations in the field or if they maintain a temporary labor camp.