The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration yesterday announced it has extended the comment period for the COVID-19 vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard from December 5 to Jan. 19, 2022. OSHA had announced in mid-November that it was taking no steps to implement or enforce the proposal following orders in Federal Court to stay the proposal due to pending litigation and concerns over its constitutionality.
Comments on Docket No. OSHA-2021-0007 can be submitted online.
With yesterday’s announcement, OSHA extended the comment period by 45 days to allow stakeholders additional time to review the ETS and collect information and data necessary for comment.
Announced on November 5, the rule was originally to go into effect December 5 with the mandatory testing alternative going into effect on January 4.
The emergency temporary standard covers employers with 100 or more employees. Covered employers must develop, implement and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, unless they adopt a policy requiring employees to either get vaccinated or undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work.