OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard Policies
Under OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), employers are required to develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, with an exception for employers that instead establish, implement, and enforce a policy allowing employees to elect either to get vaccinated or to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at the workplace. To assist employers in meeting this requirement, OSHA has provided two (2) sample policies for employers to adapt to their organization:
According to an OSHA update, the agency "will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements of the ETS before Jan. 10, 2022, and will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard's testing requirements before Feb. 9, 2022, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard." Due to the upcoming enforcement deadline, HR Partners recommends employers prepare and implement the policy that represents the employer’s chosen method of compliance.
If you would like assistance in reviewing your organization’s policy, please contact HR Partners at 785-233-7860.
Tambra Offield
Officer Manager
East Texas Electric Cooperative
“I first met Kristina Dietrick and learned of HR Partners at last year’s NRECA Interact conference. Her presentation on developing an employee handbook was very informative. Kristina sent me all the materials and introduced me to the staff who worked closely with myself and our General Manager to develop our new employee handbook specifically to fit our needs.
We were so impressed that when our Board President asked about doing an evaluation of our General Manager’s performance, that we immediately thought of HR Partners.”
We can’t thank HR Partners enough for all their help with our GM’s review process. Their knowledge and experience made the process so easy.
I have recommended CBS to all 10 of our distribution cooperative members for all their human resources needs.