Skip To The Main Content
OSHA COVID-19 ETS

OSHA COVID-19 ETS

  1. Home
  2. Advocacy
  3. What We Advocate
  4. Federal Government Affairs

OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID

On November 4, 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that applies to employers with 100 or more employees ( “covered employers”). 

Documents on the ETS:

  • The ETS published in the Federal Register can be found here. 
  • OHSA's overview of the ETS is here.
  • OSHA's FAQs on the ETS are here.
What the ETS Requires
The ETS requires covered employers to do the following:
  • Get their employees fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022.
  • Require unvaccinated employees to produce a negative test on a weekly basis.
After January 4, 2022, any employees who have not received the necessary shots will be required to produce a verified negative test to their employer on at least a weekly basis. Covered employers must also remove from the workplace any employee who receives a positive COVID-19 test or is diagnosed with COVID-19 by a licensed health care provider.

Other key points:
  • The ETS does not require employers to provide or pay for tests. However, employers may be required to pay for testing because of other laws or collective bargaining agreements.
  • The ETS does require employers to pay for time off to get the vaccine or paid sick leave to deal with any negative effects of the vaccine.
  • All unvaccinated employees must be masked at all times in the workplace.
  • Compliance will be through record keeping requirements that are spelled out in the ETS.
  • All other requirements of the ETS (except the requirement for testing of unvaccinated employees) begin on December 5, 2021.
Webinar Recording:
We hosted a webinar on the ETS on November 5. The recording is available in the webinar archive under the Legal/Government Affairs tab. 

For more information, please contact Thom Stohler.