President Biden is losing patience. The rest of us are losing our minds trying to figure out the White House vaccine mandate. So. Many. Questions. Here is a quick rundown of the latest:
WHO is covered by the mandate:
- Private sector employers with 100+ employees companywide (80 million) under an Emergency Temporary Standard that OSHA will create;
- Federal employees and federal contractors (4 million);
- Healthcare workers employed in facilities that receive Medicaid or Medicare reimbursement (17 million) under a rule that the Department of Health and Human Services CMS will create;
- Fully remote workers do not have to be vaccinated unless they work with other remote employees or come to the workplace even on occasion;
- These rules do not supersede exemption requests for religious or medical reasons and the obligation to initiate the interactive process.
- Weekly testing is mandated for those exempt from the rules. Ugh.
WHAT are the penalties? Noncompliance of the rule (s) could result in a fine of almost $14,000 per incident. How that would work is still unclear.
WHEN will this take place:
- Guidance for federal contractors is expected by 9/24/21;
- The healthcare rule is expected mid-late October;
- OHSA’s ETS for the private sector will arrive in “weeks,” with approximately 50-90 days to comply;
- The Department of Labor will announce “additional steps” in the weeks ahead too. Gulp.
WHERE can I find more information? With us of course! We will keep you up to date and have already helped hundreds of clients with fixed fee services like COVID19 vaccine policies and forms, exemption request review, and proof of vaccine policies, forms. We can tailor a solution for your workplace too.
HOW can the President do this? Oh boy, that is a different movie but as far back as January 1777, George Washington mandated smallpox inoculations for the soldiers under his command in the Continental Army. Opposition to mandates is just as old. There will be legal challenges from all sides in every circuit court now. It will be messy. The best practice is to stay on course as the agencies and White House direct us unless and until we are free to do otherwise. Or as our parents told us: Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
QUESTIONS? We can help. Please contact us.