The aim of President Biden\u2019s \u201cPath Out of the Pandemic,\u201d announced on September 9, 2021, is to increase the number of vaccinated workers across the country.\u00a0 To that end, the plan includes several requirements that will affect more than 80 million private sector workers and most workers in the public sector.<\/p>\n
Mandatory Vaccination or Weekly Testing for Large Employers of 100 or More.\u00a0 <\/strong>Under the President\u2019s plan, large employers must ensure workers are fully vaccinated or provide a negative COVID-19 test at least once each week.\u00a0 In addition, large employers must provide workers with paid time off to get vaccinated or to recover from the effects of the vaccine. Upcoming regulations will likely address how the 100-employee threshold will be met, whether it will include part-time, temporary or remote workers.<\/p>\n When Must Employer Comply?\u00a0 <\/strong>It is unclear when these mandatory requirements will take effect. According to the White House, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will develop an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) \u201cin the upcoming weeks\u201d implementing the vaccine mandate and ongoing testing requirements. While some suggest that this process will take 30 to 60 days, prior ETSs issued by OSHA earlier this year to combat the pandemic took five months. In addition, employers can expect legal challenges to the authority of the federal government to impose such mandates.<\/p>\n