On September 9 President Biden announced that the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) will soon roll out an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring employers with over 100 employees to ensure that their workforce is vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested at least weekly. The rule will affect an estimated 80+ million workers across the US.
For most employers, running a testing program is not in the cards. HR managers are already stretched to the breaking point. Considering the widespread shortage of workers, now is not the time to implement zero tolerance mandates that could lead to upwards of 30% of workers quitting.
With potential fines as high as $14,000 per violation, employers will need to provide testing for employees who decline vaccination. It will simply be impossible to ensure 100% compliance if employees must hunt down their own tests.
For this reason, affected companies need to prepare and implement an employee COVID-19 testing strategy now. A successful testing program should be fast, convenient, and keep employees at work while keeping them safe.
Rapidly spinning up a testing program is a formidable challenge. The mandate offers employers – and especially Human Resources professionals – an opportunity to shine, or fall short.
The good news is that a solution already exists. euverita has built a turnkey COVID-19 testing solution for employers that is easy to setup and use. Our employer-facilitated COVID-19 testing program will provide your company with the high-quality testing and audit trail required to keep your employees safe and meet the upcoming regulations.
For more information, contact Neal Wozniak via email at nwozniak@euverita.com or via voice/text at 612-448-2690.
