President Biden Issues COVID-19 Plan, Which Includes Employer Mandates for Vaccines/Testing

By By George S. Crisci*

In a speech delivered late this afternoon, President Biden issued his six-part plan for addressing the persistent and rising number of COVID-19 cases throughout the country. This plan includes mandates for certain employers to vaccinate employees or require regular testing. Some of the specifics include:

• a new Emergency Temporary Standard drafted by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, requiring all businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure all their workers are either vaccinated or tested weekly and produce a negative test result before coming to work, with the prospect of thousands of dollars in fines per employee for failing to do comply, and further requiring that employers provide paid time off to employees to be vaccinated;
• a requirement that health care facilities receiving Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, including but not limited to hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical settings, and home health agencies, must vaccinate their employees;
• extending the vaccination requirement for nursing facilities to include nursing home staff, staff in hospitals and other Medicare/Medicaid-regulated settings, clinical staff, individuals providing services under arrangements, volunteers, and staff who are not involved in direct patient resident, or client care;
• an executive order requiring all federal government employees be vaccinated against COVID-19, with no option of being regularly tested to opt out, or risk termination of employment;
• an executive order directing the same standard be extended to employees of contractors who do business with the federal government;
• and asking entertainment venues, such as sports arenas, large concert halls, and other venues where large groups of people gather, to require vaccination or a negative test for entry. These requirements will cover approximately 100-million employees, or two-thirds of all workers in the United States.

Further details regarding these requirements will be provided as soon as they become available. Employers are strongly encouraged to consult with legal counsel as this entire process unfolds.

*George Crisci is a member of Z&R’s Labor and Employment Group. If you have questions, contact George (gsc@zrlaw.com) or any member of the Z&R Labor and Employment Group at (216) 696-4441.