President Biden's COVID-19 Action Plan calls for workers at U.S. companies with at least 100 employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested weekly.
However, the requirement faces legal challenges. Moreover, the headcount math can be confusing for MSPs, MSSPs, IT outsourcing firms and other organizations that have a mix of full-time in-house and outsourced talent.
Timeline: Government Mandates and Legal Challenges
Here's a timeline of updates, and the potential implications for all U.S. businesses with 100 or more employees. Further below is some headcount information.
December 22, 2021: The Supreme Court will host a session on January 7 in the cases challenging the Biden administration's Covid-19 vaccine requirements for large employers and certain health care workers. Source: CNN, December 22, 2021.
November 6, 2021: A federal appeals court temporarily blocked President Joe Biden’s Covid vaccine and testing requirements for private businesses. The Biden administration has until Monday evening (November 8, 2021) to respond. Source: CNBC, November 6, 2021.
November 4, 2021: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), focusing on companies with 100 or more employees, said
- Companies must ensure either that their workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by January 4, 2022 or that they test negative for the coronavirus at least once a week.
- Unvaccinated workers must also wear face coverings while on the job. This requirement goes into effect December 5, 2021.
- Source: NPR, November 4, 2021.
Got 100 Employees?)
Meanwhile, calculating whether your company has at least 100 employees can be quite a complex process, according to a confusing FAQ posted by OSHA.
Among the variables to consider: A company with 75 part-time employees and 25 full-time employees would be considered to have 100 employees and would be within the scope of the OSHA standard. However, independent contractors do not count towards the total number of employees, OSHA noted.
