Federal COVID-19 Action Plan May Require Employers in California Adopt Vaccination or Weekly Testing Policies

On September 9, President Biden issued a six-point COVID-19 action plan intended to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates and mitigate the negative public health consequences associated with the virus and its transmission in our communities.

Of most immediate interest and importance to employers in California is the prong of the plan related to “vaccinating the unvaccinated.”[1] That prong directs the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop two (2) new workplace health and safety rules requiring employers with 100 or more employees to undertake the following measures in order to increase the health and safety of their workplaces:

• Ensure their employees are fully vaccinated or require any employees who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work[2]; and
• Provide paid time off to their employees in order to allow them to be vaccinated and recover from any adverse effects of vaccination.[3]

OSHA has not yet finalized these rules, and therefore employers need not undertake any action at this time in order to comply with the action plan.

When OSHA adopts these rules, we will provide an update on the specific requirements of such rules. We will also provide an update when the state Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) promulgates rules that would obligate employers in the state to adopt vaccination and testing policies.

LCW is experienced in drafting COVID-19 vaccination and testing policies and we are available to assist employers comply with any future legal obligations.

[1] See White House, “Path Out of the Pandemic,” Section “Vaccinating the Unvaccinated,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/ (Last uploaded September 10, 2021.)

[2] See White House, “Path Out of the Pandemic,” Section “Vaccinating the Unvaccinated,” Subsection “Requiring All Employers with 100+ Employees to Ensure Their Workers are Vaccinated or Tested Weekly,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/ (Last uploaded September 10, 2021.)

[3] See White House, “Path Out of the Pandemic,” Section “Vaccinating the Unvaccinated,” Subsection “Requiring Employers to Provide Paid Time Off to Get Vaccinated,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/covidplan/ (Last uploaded September 10, 2021.)

This Special Bulletin is published for the benefit of the clients of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore. The information in this Special Bulletin should not be acted upon without professional advice.