VTCA & ARTBA Continue To Raise Concerns About Vaccine Mandate

Time is ticking for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and all firms with 100+ employees to comply with President Joe Biden’s September announcement of a sweeping vaccine mandate to bring the latest surge in COVID-19 cases under control. Central to the administration’s plan is a requirement that every employer with more than 100 employees require the vaccine for its workforce or provide for weekly testing.  The new mandate currently scheduled to take effect December 9 will be levied and enforced through a new emergency temporary standard (ETS) from OSHA.  Yet those standards have not yet been released.  OSHA’s authority allows the agency to immediately enact a rule if “workers are in grave danger due to exposure to toxic substances or agents determined to be toxic or physically harmful or to new hazards.”

The Biden administration will also require federal employees in the executive branch and government contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The new OSHA mandate, which will apply to all private companies with more than 100 employees, does allow for weekly testing in lieu of vaccination. Specifically, unvaccinated workers must produce a negative test each week to be allowed onto a worksite.  The OSHA ETS will require employers to give paid time off to workers for their vaccinations and to recover from vaccination side effects. VDOT managed projects are not subjected to President Biden's announcement.

The association contacted OSHA before the agency issues an emergency temporary standard (ETS) on employee COVID-19 vaccinations.  See ARTBA’s letter.  Since OSHA will not have a public comment period before issuing the directive, ARTBA reminded the agency that transportation construction personnel are already taking proactive measures to prevent virus spread and often work in socially distanced, outdoor settings. ARTBA also asked OSHA to consider:

• which employers on a worksite are responsible for employee vaccinations;
• record retention for vaccine documentation; and
• possible impacts of a vaccine requirement on the industry’s strained workforce.  Workers can simply switch to a smaller firm and exempt themselves from the mandate. 

ARTBA also serves on the steering committee of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition, which submitted a letter expressing similar concerns.

To help VTCA members better understand the expected new standard, VTCA members were offered a free webinar on vaccination and workplace issues for direct federal contractors.

Additionally, an ETS is expected in the coming weeks. Once it is issued, ARTBA will provide an analysis of its requirements for members.