OSHA and CMS Issue Workplace COVID-19 Vaccine Rules
On November 5, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published corresponding regulations on COVID-19 vaccination policies in the workplace.
The OSHA emergency temporary standard (ETS) requires employers with 100 or more employees to implement a policy requiring employees to be fully vaccinated against COVD-19 or require unvaccinated employees to submit to weekly testing and masking requirements. Employers covered under the OSHA ETS would also need to provide employees with reasonable paid time off to get and recover from vaccine side effects. Employers have until December 5, 2021, to comply with the ETS, but have until January 4, 2022, to comply with the vaccination and testing components.
The CMS interim final rule mandates COVID-19 vaccination requirements for staff at covered Medicare and Medicaid facilities. The vaccination mandate applies to staff "regardless of clinical responsibility or patient contact," and no testing/masking alternative is allowed. Like the OSHA ETS, the CMS rule requires covered employees to be fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022. CMS has posted a list of questions and answers as a resource on the rule.
The OSHA standard should not impact dental practices with fewer than 100 employees company-wide. The CMS rule should not apply to private dental offices but may apply to dentists working in Medicare or Medicaid facilities such as hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, nursing homes, rural health clinics, and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). Dentists with hospital privileges or who work for the Indian Health Service (IHS) will also be impacted.
Both rules are now the subject of pending legal challenges. As of publication, implementation of OSHA's ETS has been suspended due to rulings from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which asserts that OSHA has exceeded its statutory authority in issuing the ETS. Ultimate resolution on the legality of the ETS will likely need to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Impact on General Dentistry: AGD appreciates that the OSHA and CMS rules do not pertain to most general dentists and private dental practices. AGD is still evaluating these rules for their final impact on dentistry and will weigh in with the relevant federal agencies as appropriate. Dentistry's efforts to prevent COVID-19 infections in the dental practice setting and the high vaccination rate among dentists have likely played a critical role in dentistry avoiding potentially burdensome regulatory requirements.
The OSHA emergency temporary standard (ETS) requires employers with 100 or more employees to implement a policy requiring employees to be fully vaccinated against COVD-19 or require unvaccinated employees to submit to weekly testing and masking requirements. Employers covered under the OSHA ETS would also need to provide employees with reasonable paid time off to get and recover from vaccine side effects. Employers have until December 5, 2021, to comply with the ETS, but have until January 4, 2022, to comply with the vaccination and testing components.
The CMS interim final rule mandates COVID-19 vaccination requirements for staff at covered Medicare and Medicaid facilities. The vaccination mandate applies to staff "regardless of clinical responsibility or patient contact," and no testing/masking alternative is allowed. Like the OSHA ETS, the CMS rule requires covered employees to be fully vaccinated by January 4, 2022. CMS has posted a list of questions and answers as a resource on the rule.
The OSHA standard should not impact dental practices with fewer than 100 employees company-wide. The CMS rule should not apply to private dental offices but may apply to dentists working in Medicare or Medicaid facilities such as hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, nursing homes, rural health clinics, and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). Dentists with hospital privileges or who work for the Indian Health Service (IHS) will also be impacted.
Both rules are now the subject of pending legal challenges. As of publication, implementation of OSHA's ETS has been suspended due to rulings from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which asserts that OSHA has exceeded its statutory authority in issuing the ETS. Ultimate resolution on the legality of the ETS will likely need to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Impact on General Dentistry: AGD appreciates that the OSHA and CMS rules do not pertain to most general dentists and private dental practices. AGD is still evaluating these rules for their final impact on dentistry and will weigh in with the relevant federal agencies as appropriate. Dentistry's efforts to prevent COVID-19 infections in the dental practice setting and the high vaccination rate among dentists have likely played a critical role in dentistry avoiding potentially burdensome regulatory requirements.