by
2021-09-10
September 10, 2021 – David Sprinkle was on FOX 35 this morning discussing President Biden’s announcement of the White House’s COVID-19 Action Plan and its implications for employers and employees.
On Thursday, President Biden announced a new COVID-19 Action Plan that will significantly impact large employers in the U.S. The plan at this time does not have specific details on the effective date or compliance requirements but is expected to take effect soon after guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are released. The action plan is summarized below with the details that are currently available.
Vaccine mandate or weekly testing for large private sector employers
Under the action plan, all employers with 100 workers or more will be required to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations or a weekly negative test result for all employees. After the compliance requirements are released, companies that fail to comply may face fines of $14,000 per violation.
Vaccine paid time off mandate for large private sector employers
Employers with 100 employees or more will be required to provide paid time off for employees receiving the COVID-19 vaccine or recovering from the symptoms.
Healthcare worker vaccine mandate
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will require COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in most health care settings including hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical settings, home health agencies, and other agencies providing direct care.
Federal worker vaccine mandate
Expanding on requirements released in July, the president will require federal workers and contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19. This new requirement removes regular testing as an acceptable option for vaccination.
The Veritas team is closely tracking and monitoring ongoing updates to these mandates. As more detail is released on how it will affect employers, employees, and industry, we will continue to provide updates.