On June 21 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published in the Federal Register an emergency temporary standard (ETS) for occupational exposure to COVID-19. The ETS requires health care employers to comply with workplace and training mandates to protect their workers in settings where suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients are treated.

This ETS was a direct result of the Biden Administration's Executive Order "Protecting Worker Health and Safety” and requires health care employers, under specific situations, to develop and implement a COVID-19 plan to identify and control COVID-19 hazards in the workplace. Employers included in this ruling (or "covered employers") also must implement other requirements to reduce transmission of COVID-19 in their workplaces. Further, the ETS requires employers to provide reasonable time and paid leave for employee vaccinations and any side effects and for medical removal of employees due to suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection. (Source: OSHA)

Join CareAcademy's own Erika Sessions, Compliance and Policy Development Manager, and Adrianna Ware, RN, MSN-ED, Nurse Educator in Compliance, as we discuss what this means for agencies and direct care workers.