The Biden administration announced last week that federal workplace safety officials will soon issue a rule that will require all companies with over 100 employees to ensure their employees are either fully vaccinated or tested weekly. The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to implement this requirement. Our HR team and industry partners are currently in the process of determining what this executive plan means for Land O’Lakes, Inc., our businesses, and our member-owners.

Under the federal vaccine mandate, businesses would also be required to give employees paid time off to get vaccinated and to recover from any vaccine side effects. The ETS is expected to be issued in the coming weeks and will address key questions such as who is responsible for paying for weekly testing and whether the rules will apply to employees who work remotely.

We will continue to work with NCFC as well as other industry partners to identify key issues and provide appropriate resources as we learn more. In the meantime, the National Law Journal recently provided a breakdown of key provisions.