In an effort to keep you up to date with OSHA ETS mandates and guidelines, we’re sending out this special communication. There is a lot of information in this email and we’ll try to break it down succinctly for you. The picture graph below is a great resource to know exactly what is expected of you as an employer of 100 or more employees beginning Monday, January 10, 2022. Despite the Supreme Court hearing the case today, given the immediacy of its implementation, we want employers to be ready and plan accordingly.
Most importantly, beginning Monday, January 10, 2022, employers must determine the vaccination status of each employee and develop a written policy consistent with the mandate of the ETS. M3 Insurance has free resources to use including a vaccination, testing and face covering flow chart and an employee vaccination and testing tracker excel spreadsheet template.
Here are some quick FAQs and a link directly to the OSHA website for more details and explanations.
- Are part-time employees included in the 100-employee threshold? Yes.
- Are employees who are minors counted and does the ETS apply to them? Yes
- What documentation will be required to verify vaccination status? The employer must require each vaccinated employee to provide acceptable proof of vaccination status, including whether they are fully or partially vaccinated. A list of acceptable forms can be found on the OSHA website linked above.
- Do I have to maintain a copy of each COVID-19 test result for each of my unvaccinated employees? Yes. (The m3 Insurance excel spreadsheet tracker is a great resource for smaller employers)
- May a COVID-19 over-the-counter-test from a local pharmacy be used to satisfy the testing requirements? Yes; however, to satisfy the requirements of the standard an over-the-counter (OTC) test may not be both self-administered and self-read unless observed by the employer or an authorized telehealth proctor.
Lastly, here are some more quick bullet points for reference from SHRM in regards to what needs to be in place by January 10, 2022.
- Determine the vaccination status of each employee, obtain acceptable proof of vaccination, and maintain a list of employees and their vaccination status. The ETS also requires employers to retain records of each employee’s vaccination status, preserving acceptable proof of vaccination for each employee as medical records for as long as the standard is in effect.
- Establish a policy to support employee vaccinations by providing employees reasonable time, including up to four hours of paid time off, to receive each primary vaccination dose, and reasonable time and paid sick leave to recover from any side effects. A primary vaccination dose does not refer to a booster shot.
- Require employees to promptly provide notice of a positive COVID-19 test or diagnosis.
- Remove any employee who received a positive COVID-19 test or diagnosis, and keep that employee out of the workplace until the individual meets criteria for returning to work.
- Ensure that all unvaccinated employees begin wearing face masks when indoors or when occupying a vehicle with another person for work purposes.
- Provide each employee with information, in a language and at a literacy level the worker understands, about the requirements of the ETS and workplace policies and procedures established to implement the ETS.
We will continue to monitor the Supreme Court case and provide updates as they become available.
Have a safe weekend!
The team at Envision Greater Fond du Lac