Vaccine Emergency Standard Expected within 1-2 weeks

Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sent the proposed regulatory text of the vaccine mandate emergency to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), with release of the emergency standard expected within 1 to 2 weeks. The rule will be based on President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) in August that requires every company with 100 or more employees to be fully vaccinated or provide weekly testing, all federal contractors must be vaccinated, and employers must provide paid time off for vaccinations. This rule is an emergency temporary standard, which means the Administration can expedite the rulemaking process, but that it can only be in effect for 6 months. During these 6 months, the Administration can choose to promulgate a normal rule which would follow the traditional rulemaking process, timeframes and effective periods. NPMA will be reaching out to OSHA once the rule is introduced to weigh in as well as submitting comments. For questions on this rule or vaccine policies in general, contact Ashley Amidon at aamidon@pestworld.org or at 703-352-6762.