Employer Fact Sheet
‍OSHA’s Updated Guidance on Mitigating the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace

On November 4, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its anticipated COVID-19 rules for roughly 116,000 private businesses with 100 or more employees firm or company-wide, a sweeping new measure that's designed to protect 84 million workers on the job. Those rules—currently on hold pending a legal challenge in federal court—require vaccination or weekly testing for COVID-19 by January 4, 2022, with exceptions only for people with a medical disability or religious accommodation. Beginning December 6, 2021, employers will also be required to offer workers paid time off for vaccination and recovery from possible side effects, as well as require unvaccinated workers to wear face coverings at the workplace.

The current OSHA guidance on mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, updated August 13, 2021, remains in effect. This guidance is designed to help employers protect workers who are unvaccinated or otherwise at-risk, and also implement new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention involving workers who are fully vaccinated but located in areas of substantial or high community transmission. This guidance is for workers not covered by OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS).
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Here are important updates that every employer should know:

1. Masks and Face Coverings

Consistent with CDC’s latest guidance, OSHA encourages employers to:

• require all workers to wear face coverings indoors in areas with substantial or high transmission of COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status.
• provide face coverings to workers who request them at no cost, and make replacements available to workers when they request them.

OSHA refers to the CDC website for a map of the U.S. and the levels of community transmission by county. 

2. Vaccination

OSHA continues to emphasize that “vaccination is the most effective way to protect against severe illness or death from COVID-19.” The guidance strongly encourages employers to: 

• provide paid time off to workers for vaccinations and recovery from any side effects;
• consider requiring workers to get vaccinated or to undergo regular COVID-19 testing, in addition to mask wearing and physical distancing (if they remain unvaccinated).

3. Testing & Quarantines

OSHA encourages employers to:

• instruct any workers who are infected, unvaccinated workers who have had close contact with someone who tested positive, and all workers with COVID-19 symptoms to stay home from work;
• instruct fully vaccinated people who have a known exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 to get tested 3-5 days after exposure and wear a mask in public indoor settings for 14 days or until they receive a negative test result;
• ensure that absence policies are non-punitive, and eliminate policies that encourage workers to come to work sick or when unvaccinated workers have been exposed to COVID-19.

Additional Protections for Higher-Risk Settings

OSHA recommends additional protections for workers in meat, poultry, and seafood processing facilities, high-volume retail, and grocery and agricultural processing settings, including:

• require unvaccinated or otherwise at-risk workers—and also fully vaccinated workers in areas of substantial or high community transmission—to wear masks whenever possible;
• encourage and consider requiring customers and other visitors to do the same

OSHA’s updated guidance also reiterates that employers should follow all other applicable mandatory OSHA standards, including requirements for PPE, respiratory protection, sanitation, protection from bloodborne pathogens, and employee access to medical records. 
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These recommendations are advisory in nature and informational in content, and are intended to assist employers in recognizing and abating hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm as part of their obligation to provide a safe and healthful workplace. This guidance is not a standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal obligations.

Mandatory Standards for Healthcare Settings & Public Transportation

While this guidance addresses many workplaces, many healthcare workplace settings will be covered by the mandatory OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard.  
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The CDC requires all people to wear masks on public transportation (e.g., airplanes, trains, subways, buses, taxis, ride-shares, ferries, ships, trolleys, and cable cars) into or within the United States. This includes all personnel operating public transportation and workers at transportation hubs, including airports, bus stations, seaports and U.S. ports of entry.

Public health guidance on COVID-19 is constantly evolving. Health Action Alliance is committed to regularly updating our materials once we've engaged public health, business and communications experts about the implications of new guidance from the public health community and effective business strategies that align with public health goals. Together, we can turn the tide against COVID-19 and build a stronger, healthier future.