OSHA Covid Vaccine Mandate For Private Employers: Everything You Need To Know

The Biden administration unveiled a sweeping federal labor rule on Thursday, requiring private employers with at least 100 employees to assure that all of their employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to regular testing and wear a face mask. The new rule represents a virtually unprecedented government intervention between employers and the people they entrust to carry out their business every day. Here are the facts you need to know:

What does OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate require?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it is issuing an emergency temporary standard (ETS), which requires all employers with 100 employees or more to require that all workers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no later than January 4, 2022, or face stiff financial penalties.

Can a worker refuse to get vaccinated without losing his or her job?

The OSHA rule, which applies to most of the U.S. workforce, requires any employee who chooses not to get vaccinated to submit to weekly testing for COVID-19 and to “wear a face covering” while on the job. The rule also allows employees seeking an exemption for medical reasons, or who have a sincerely held religious objection, to apply for an exemption. OSHA instructs employers to deal with these requests on a case-by-case basis.

What is the government’s definition of “fully vaccinated”?

The government considers anyone fully vaccinated who has received two doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccinations, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccination.

Does this OSHA ETS affect health care workers?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a separate rule on Thursday that requires any health care employee who works in a facility receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Unlike the OSHA rule, this mandate has no exception allowing for testing, nor does it allow for medical exemptions or religious objections of any kind.

Who pays for the vaccinations or the testing?

The OSHA regulation requires employers to give unvaccinated workers paid time off to receive the shot(s) — which are available at no charge — as well as to recover from any side effects the vaccine may produce. Who pays for weekly COVID-19 tests is less clear. The Biden administration allows employers to force employees to get their own tests. Testing kits currently run between $11 and $15 each, so a worker could spend a minimum of $572 a year to remain in compliance with the Biden administration’s