This blog was updated on Jan. 25 with details about OSHA withdrawing its emergency temporary standard related to COVID-19.
In a recent decision, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would allow the rule requiring COVID-19 vaccination for health care workers at Medicare and Medicaid-covered entities to move forward.
The rule requires almost all employees at hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers that receive federal funds to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provided new guidance after the Supreme Court’s decision was issued. The guidance includes new enforcement dates for states affected by the previous stay placed on the rule. Health care entities in affected states will now be expected to have their staff at least partially vaccinated by Feb. 14 and fully vaccinated by March 15*.
This new guidance applies to health care employers in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Impacted employees in other states must receive their first vaccination by Jan. 27 and be fully vaccinated by Feb. 28*, according to CMS’ previous guidance. Employees in Texas must have their first vaccination by Feb. 19 and be fully vaccinated by March 21.
After the Supreme Court issued a stay on OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on Jan. 13, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) withdrew its emergency temporary standard for COVID-19, effective Jan. 26. The ETS required employers with 100 or more employees to track employee vaccination and testing statuses. The agency announced it is working to finalize a permanent COVID-19 health care standard.
Get clued in
Concerned about complying with state or federal vaccine and testing-related regulations? Looking for a simple solution to enhance workplace safety and track your team’s vaccination and testing status?
Clue® makes it simple to get clued in to your workforce’s vaccination and testing status. By enabling you to easily collect, track and report your business’s COVID-19 data, Clue helps you confidently navigate this evolving compliance landscape.
Seamlessly integrated into our single software, this tool helps you achieve peace of mind by:
- empowering employees to quickly and easily provide their vaccination status or test results through our mobile app
- sending push notifications to remind employees of requested data and test due dates
- monitoring results and other statuses through an intuitive, action-based dashboard
- allowing you to confirm submissions and manage employees with positive test results
Plus, Clue lets you exclude remote workers and readily add Form 3 exemption accommodations for religious or medical reasons. And the tool’s autogenerated reports give you the versatility you need to pin down the data most relevant to your enterprise.
Help protect your employees and ensure your compliance — get clued in today!
*There are some exceptions to these requirements. Please see the guidance memos linked above for more information.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided herein does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional legal, tax, accounting or other professional advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional adviser who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation and for your particular state(s) of operation.