The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a new emergency temporary standard (ETS) to protect more than 84 million workers from the spread of the coronavirus on the job. Under this standard, covered employers must develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, unless they adopt a policy requiring employees to choose to either be vaccinated or undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work.
The ETS covers employers with 100 or more employees—firm or companywide—and provides options for compliance. The ETS also requires employers to provide paid time to workers to get vaccinated and to allow for paid leave to recover from any side effects.
