President Joe Biden has announced strict vaccine rules for large employers as part of the administration’s new six-part plan to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) will soon issue an “emergency temporary standard” that will require employers with 100 or more workers to require their workers to be vaccinated or provide a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work. Biden also announced that employers with 100 or more workers will be required to provide paid time off for vaccination or time to recover if employees fall ill after receiving the vaccine. OSHA will “take enforcement actions” against companies that do not comply, which could include “substantial fines up to nearly $14,000 per violation,” according to an administration official.
At this time, it is unclear when OSHA will issue the emergency temporary standard. Metz Lewis will continue to monitor developments and provide additional information as it becomes available.
This post was written by Rachel Felton
