OSHA Vaccine Mandate Heads to White House

The Biden Administration has called for all employers with 100 or more employees to require their employees to receive a Covid vaccine or produce a weekly negative test before coming to work. In addition, federal contractors are mandated to receive the COVID vaccine, with no option for weekly testing. NUCA, as part of the The Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC), has submitted a letter to OSHA's Administrator describing the "significant implications for the construction industry and for the construction workforce" if this mandate is implemented. The mandate can also come very quickly, being placed into effect through its Emergency Temporary Standard, which does not accept formal public comments. In fact, OSHA sent the rule to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs last week, and as a result of the President's desire for expedited action, the regulators could quickly conclude their review and publish the ETS any day. While court challenges are likely, we will continue to speak out against these workplace mandates.