Medium, Large Employers Required to Ensure Employee Vaccinations

Nov. 8, 2021—The Biden Administration has set the deadline for employers with at least 100 workers to ensure either every employee is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or unvaccinated employees are tested weekly. Employers also will be required to provide paid time for their workers to get the shot.

The administration announced the initiative in September, but hadn’t provided details of how the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) would implement the rule until now.

On Nov. 4 the White House provided more details, while also detailing an initiative to guarantee health care workers are vaccinated. The full details and requirements from OSHA are available here.

The most important detail for repair shops and business owners is the deadline. And there are actually two deadlines.

By Jan. 4, 2022, employers with at least 100 staff will need to begin requiring weekly tests of employees who remain unvaccinated.

But other rules, including a mask mandate for unvaccinated employees and providing paid time off to get vaccinated — go into effect one month earlier — on Dec. 5.