This morning (Thursday, Oct. 4), the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) aimed to protect more than 84 million workers from COVID-19. In a release from OSHA National, it states, “The nation’s unvaccinated workers face grave danger from workplace exposure to coronavirus, and immediate action is necessary to protect them.”
The ETS is aimed at all employers with more than 100 employees and those who chose not to be vaccinated are expected to wear a mask and produce a negative test result on a weekly basis before coming to work. The federal rule will take effect when it is officially entered into the Federal Register.
Minnesota is one of 22 states that has adopted an OSHA state plan, which requires those state to meet or exceeds the federal OSHA standards. Once the ETS standards are published in the Federal Register, the Minnesota OSHA office will have 30 days to adopt the new standards and 60 days to adopt the testing requirements.
To see the full OSHA release, click here: https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/national/11042021