On Thursday, September 9, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring all federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Unlike prior mandates, federal employees will not have the option of being regularly tested to opt out. The President also signed an accompanying order requiring the same standard be applied to employees of contractors that do business with the federal government as well as establish a new directive for private employers with more than 100 employees.
A statement released by the White House yesterday says, “The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing a rule that will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work. OSHA will issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to implement this requirement. This requirement will impact over 80 million workers in private sector businesses with 100+ employees.”
Over the coming weeks, these mandates could have an untold impact on the electrical industry, as companies will face thousands of dollars in fines per employee if they refuse to comply. Already suffering from a crippling skilled worker shortage, the mandates could also lead to the further loss of industry tradespeople who may elect to find work within different industries and/or at smaller companies to avoid being vaccinated or tested on a weekly basis.
According to Keith Wilkes, a labor and employment partner/shareholder at the national law firm Hall Estill, "The emergency OSHA rule, which will require all private-sector employers with at least 100 employees to mandate vaccinations in their workforce or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis, is expected to impact over 80 million private-sector workers."
Wilkes goes on to say, "OSHA, which falls under the U.S. Department of Labor, will issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to implement the new rule. Although the timing of when the ETS requirement will go into effect is not clear, it will likely not be a long wait.
He adds, “Employers impacted by the new OSHA rule will be required to explore whether reasonable accommodation exists for those employees who seek refuge from the vaccination mandate because of a sincerely held religious belief, or a disability-based reason. Absent falling into one of those two categories, unvaccinated private-sector employees who fall under this new rule will have no choice but to obtain full vaccination if they wish to keep their current job."
To read President Biden’s six-pronged strategy to combat COVID-19, visit www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/.
