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Thursday, 04 November, 2021

Member Alert: OSHA Releases ETS on Vaccine Mandate

Today, the Department of Labor announced that the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has filed an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) mandating COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing for employees of private companies with 100 or more workers. The ETS will be officially published in the Federal Register on Friday, November 5. Scope: 

  • All private companies with 100 or more employees across all locations, including all categories of workers: full- and part-time, on-site and remote, seasonal and temporary, etc.
  • Supersedes any conflicting state or local laws regarding vaccine, testing, or mask mandates

Requirements to be implemented by December 4, 2021:

  • Develop COVID-19 vaccine policy and disseminate to employees
  • Determine employee vaccination status, obtain proof of vaccination, and maintain employee vaccination records and roster
  • Require face coverings for unvaccinated workers when indoors or in vehicles with other employees
  • Provide up to four hours of paid leave for employees to receive each vaccine dose and reasonable paid sick leave for recovery after each dose
  • Make available aggregate data that includes total number of employees and total number of vaccinated employees at each workplace 

Requirements to be implemented by January 4, 2022:

  • Implement weekly COVID-19 testing protocol for all unvaccinated workers; maintain and preserve testing records for as long as ETS remains in effect
  • Both PCR and antigen tests acceptable
  • Employers are not required to pay for testing or provide paid time off for testing

Exemptions: 

  • Employees who work remotely from home or work exclusively outdoors

Duration: 

  • OSHA expects the ETS to remain in effect for six months. The Administration will continue to monitor COVID-19 trends and adjust the ETS accordingly if the threat of grave danger to the covered workforce increases or decreases

Enforcement: 

  • Employers do not need to submit their vaccination/testing policy or records to OSHA; however they must be prepared to respond to a request for verification within four business hours
  • Fines range from $10,000 up to $100,000 for “willful violations”

OSHA Resources: 

The White House also announced a streamlined timeline for the OSHA ETS and federal contractor vaccine order. Employees falling under either the ETS or federal contractor rule will need to receive all doses of COVID-19 vaccine by January 4, 2022   As always, NATA will continue to keep you informed of further developments.

For general press inquiries, contact Shannon Chambers at 703-298-1347 or schambers@nata.aero

The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) has been the voice of aviation business for more than 80 years. Representing nearly 3,700 aviation businesses, NATA’s member companies provide a broad range of services to general aviation, the airlines and the military and NATA serves as the public policy group representing the interests of aviation businesses before Congress and the federal agencies.