On Nov. 4, the Department of Labor released the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Emergency Temporary Standard regarding vaccines/testing for employers with 100 or more employees, and it was published in the Federal Register Nov. 5. The deadline for covered employers to ensure their employees are either fully vaccinated or can produce a negative COVID-19 test weekly is Jan. 4, 2022; all other requirements of the emergency rule must be complied with by Dec. 5.
NRCA has many concerns with the ETS; however, the exemption it contains for employees who perform work “exclusively outdoors” will substantially mitigate the effects on the roofing industry. NRCA recently spearheaded an effort with the Construction Industry Safety Coalition to send a letter to OSHA noting the low-risk nature of construction industry work warranted exclusion or maximum flexibility from the requirements of the ETS, and NRCA appreciates the agency’s recognition of this fact.
View more information regarding the criteria of the “exclusively outdoors” exemption, as well as additional details about the ETS.