How will President Biden’s recently announced “Path Out of the Pandemic” affect employers?

On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced a six-pronged action plan in an effort to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Several of the White House’s initiatives, listed below, are aimed at employers and employees across a broad spectrum of industries and sectors. Employers may have questions about updating policies and whether the new requirements are applicable to them, and Lipp Law is available to assist your business.

• Employers with 100+ employees must ensure their employees are vaccinated or require unvaccinated employees to provide a negative test result on a weekly basis, otherwise the employer may face a fine. The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will implement and enforce this rule.
• Employers with 100+ employees must provide paid time off to employees for time taken to get vaccinated or to recover post-vaccination. OSHA will implement this rule, as well.
• All federal employees and employees of federal contractors must be vaccinated, absent a proof of religious or medical exemptions from vaccination. These employees have no option to provide negative test results in lieu of vaccination. If these employees remain unvaccinated, they risk disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
• Employees of employers that receive Medicare or Medicaid reimbursements must be vaccinated.

• Teachers, staff, and personnel at Head Start and Early Head Start programs, the Department of Defense, and Bureau of Indian Education-operated schools must be vaccinated.

Over the upcoming weeks, the logistics and rules underlying these mandates will become clearer. If you are an employer needing assistance with updating policies and implementing them in your workplace, please contact Lipp Law today.