OSHA Extends Comment Period for Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing
On November 30, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it was extending the comment period for its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on mandatory “COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing” by 45 days from December 6, 2021, until January 19, 2022. OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS was issued under section 6(c)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and was published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2021. The ETS requires employers with 100 or more employees to develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, except for covered employers that adopt an alternative policy of requiring employees to undergo regular COVID–19 testing and wear a face covering at work. OSHA determined that a grave danger exists that necessitates the ETS and that the ETS is both technically and economically feasible for covered employers. The ETS has been stayed by a federal appellate court while challenges to the rule proceed.
Read OSHA’s press release at https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/national/11302021.
For additional information, including OSHA summaries and fact sheets about the ETS, please visit OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing webpage.
Read OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing here: Federal Register :: COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing; Emergency Temporary Standard.
Comments are due by January 19, 2022, and can be filed at www.regulations.gov at Federal Register :: COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing; Emergency Temporary Standard (Docket No. OSHA–2021–0007-0001)
Advocacy contact: Bruce Lundegren, Assistant Chief Counsel, at bruce.lundegren@sba.gov or (202) 205-6144.