Greater Louisville Inc.: OSHA Issues Regulations For Vaccine And Testing Requirements

Louisville KY

09 November, 2021

4:12 PM

Description

Press release from Greater Louisville, Inc.: 2021-11-08 On Friday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published the emergency temporary standard (ETS), which requires private sector employers with more than 100 employees to require COVID 19 vaccination or weekly testing. The ETS requires employers to ensure vaccination and begin testing on January 4, 2021. Following the announcement of the new guidance, GLI released the following statement. In the guidelines and FAQ released, OSHA took important steps to lessen the burden on employers, including not requiring employers to pay for testing. However, there are still many unanswered questions and ambiguities surrounding the current ETS guidelines. However, over the weekend a U.S. Court of Appeals blocked the measure after several lawsuits from southern states were filed. While the halt does not have an immediate impact since the first deadline for compliance is not until early December, GLI will continue to monitor the legal challenges and how they impact your business. Since we can not predict the outcomes of the litigation or how long the block will be in effect, below are key facts about the current guidance, which remains in effect for 6 months from the issue date: Employer Actions Required by December 5, 2021 While the ETS requires covered employers to ensure employee vaccination or testing by January 4, 2022, there are several actions that employees must comply with by December 5, 2021. Employers must: Policy templates and additional resources are available through OSHA for employers to use or adapt for their businesses and can be accessed here. What's Next? The ETS has already been challenged by several states and was blocked by a U.S. Court of Appeals on Saturday.  However, until the court renders a final decision, employers should begin implementing these requirements as if they will take effect to ensure they are in compliance if the mandate is upheld. It is also important to keep in mind that Kentucky and Indiana are both State Plan states which means that they have 15 days to adopt the federal regulation (either as is or more restrictive) and then another 15 days to implement. GLI will continue to monitor the mandate and any changes to the regulations. For more information, check out this FAQ from the US Chamber of Commerce on OSHA's ETS.   This press release was produced by Greater Louisville, Inc.. The views expressed here are the author's own.