COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS – Fact Sheet

Emergency Temporary Standard

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the workplace. The ETS establishes binding requirements to protect unvaccinated employees of large employers (100 or more employees) from the risk of contracting COVID-19 in the workplace.

The ETS is necessary to protect unvaccinated workers from the risk of contracting COVID-19 at work. The rule covers all employers with a total of 100 or more employees with a few exceptions described below. Covered employers must develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, with an exception for employers that instead adopt a policy requiring employees to elect either to get vaccinated or to undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work. This fact sheet highlights some of the additional requirements of the ETS; employers should consult the standard for full details.

Which employers are covered by the ETS?

• Private employers with 100 or more employees firm- or corporate-wide.
• In states with OSHA-approved State Plans, state and local-government employers, as well as private employers, with 100 or more employees will be covered by state occupational safety and health requirements.