Originally published on 2 December 2021. Kept as written; the law it describes may have moved since.
The OSHA Vaccine Mandate is Quickly Approaching - Will It Go Through?
The Run-Down: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a mandate requiring private businesses with more than 100 employees to ensure their employees are either fully vaccinated or take weekly tests for Covid-19, set to be effective January 4th
- If employees are not vaccinated, they would be required to take weekly tests for Covid-19 and be fully masked while working
- OSHA can issue fines against companies for noncompliance
- However, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency stay prohibiting enforcement of this mandate, citing constitutional concerns
- While OSHA has the authority to issue emergency temporary standards to protect employees from being exposed to grave danger, many question if the Covid-19 pandemic falls into this category
Why You Should Care:
- This is extremely important news for any organization. Even though this mandate is set to impact only private employers with 100 or more employees, there’s always a potential for this aspect to change, especially as a new coronavirus variant is expected to spread during this flu season. Effective compliance monitoring will be a must for any organization as the date for this mandate to become effective gets closer.
- Organizations are struggling to effectively introduce measures that will meet the mandates’ requirements. To get ahead, corporations must develop strong implementation plans that will put their business on track to meet the mandate requirements, should it go through. In this plan, businesses need to consider the cost of supporting employees through these changes.
- They must also consider their communication plans and firmly present their decisions regarding the mandate to employees. As the coronavirus pandemic continues, it serves as a reminder that compliance risks present themselves in any and every facet of business. Leaders must educate themselves and remain confident, communicative, and consistent, all while balancing out ever-changing circumstances of the world at large with adaptability and action.