Continued COVID Guidance: New OSHA ETS, FFCRA Update, Mask Mandates and Re-Entry following Travel

Posted By Brandy King
June 09, 2021 Category: FFCRA, ARPA, FMLA, EFMLA, Ohio Mask Mandate, Dewine, Compliance, COVID 19, Employer Requirements, Employee Leave, International Travel, OSHA ETS, Emergency Temporary Standard, Healthcare Industry

June 2021 OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard  More guidance has been issued from OSHA, directed at healthcare industry employers such as hospitals, emergency responders, long term care, etc. The new Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for Covid-19 went into effect June 10, 2021.  You can find a great summary here that also includes a link to the flowchart on OSHA.gov.    June 2021 COVID & FFCRA Update The FFCRA was mandatory for many employers until December 31 of 2020.  The previous administration extended the paid leave provisions of the FFCRA through March 31, 2021 – however, the extension was no longer mandatory. If employers chose to provide paid leave benefits due to COVID, they were still eligible to receive the tax credit to offset the costs of paying employee leave.  Additionally, President Biden extended the FFCRA provisions in the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) through September 30, 2021.  Biden also added some new components of the paid leave, which include: •    Additional reasons employees can take paid leave        o    Time spent in order to get the vaccine        o    Time from work missed due to complications from the vaccine  •    The 80 hour limit reset on April 1, 2021        o    Meaning if an employee exhausted their Paid Sick Leave before Ma