The White House today announced details of an emergency temporary standard that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to be fully vaccinated or test weekly for COVID-19. Under the standard—which was developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration at the direction of President Biden—employees of covered firms will have until Jan. 4 to receive the vaccine or be required to produce a negative test on “at least a weekly basis.” Employers “must remove from the workplace any employee who receives a positive COVID-19 tests or is diagnosed with COVID-19 by a licensed health care provider.”
Additionally, all covered employers will be required to provide paid time off for their employees to get vaccinated and recover from vaccination side effects that prevent them from working. Unvaccinated employees will also be required to wear face masks while in the workplace.
While the testing requirement will not take effect until Jan. 4, employers must be in compliance with all other requirements—including paid leave and masking requirements—by Dec. 5.
