President Biden has released his plan for the “Path Out of the Pandemic: POTUS COVID-19 Action Plan.” The Action Plan addresses the new, more challenging enemy in the fight against the virus – the Delta variant.
NECA is attending "The Utility Expo" in Louisville, KY
September 28-30, 2021
The Utility Expo is the largest event for utility professionals and construction contractors seeking the latest industry technologies, innovations, and trends.
“NECA is excited about this opportunity to partner with the Utility Expo. This is another example of NECA’s commitment to the success of our Outside Line community and we look forward to an incredible show.” – Mike Starner, NECA Director, Outside Line Safety
NECA Safety will be involved with many safety related sessions for members in Nashville. On Monday, Oct. 11, Federated Insurance will moderate the Safety Roundtable, "Safety Leadership and Risk Management - The Road Ahead." On Tuesday, Oct. 12, NECA Codes and Standards will deliver "2021 NFPA 70E Significant Changes." Make your plans to attend these informative and impactful sessions.
President Biden's Action Plan and an OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard Coming on Vaccine Mandates for Employers
President Biden has released his plan for the “Path Out of the Pandemic: POTUS COVID-19 Action Plan.” After describing how the Administration facilitated getting more than 175 million Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the Action Plan addresses the new, more challenging enemy in the fight against the virus – the Delta variant. The COVID-19 Action Plan then sets forth President Biden’s six-pronged plan to combat COVID-19 this Fall:
1. Vaccinating the Unvaccinated 2. Furthering Protection for the Vaccinated 3. Keeping Schools Safely Open 4. Increasing Testing and Requiring Masking 5. Protecting Our Economic Recovery 6. Improving Care for Those with COVID-19
There are two key items included in the plan: OSHA will issue a new ETS that will require covered employers to mandate that their employees either be fully vaccinated or get weekly COVID-19 testing; and it will require employers to provide paid time off for employees to get vaccinated and recover from the vaccination.
OSHA is convening a Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Review Act (SBREFA) Panel to review the new Emergency Response Standard under development
OSHA’s potential standard could apply to employers that designate employees to provide emergency response services that are currently covered by OSHA’s Fire Brigades standard (29 FR §1910.156) or are not specifically covered by another OSHA standard. This could include emergency service organizations (ESOs) (e.g., firefighting, fire rescue, emergency medical service, etc.), general industry employers that have or will establish a Workplace Emergency Response Team (e.g., an industrial, emergency, or facility fire brigade), and general industry, construction, and maritime industry employers that expect, based on past experience, to enter into a mutual aid agreement or contract to provide “skilled support” personnel at an emergency incident (e.g., crane/bulldozer operators, towing companies, environmental response firms, etc.).
