What the COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Means For Compliance Professionals

As you already know, the Supreme Court decided not to back the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard. It required private employers to implement vaccine mandates for their employees. But, the Supreme Court did uphold CMS’ authority to require COVID-19 vaccination for workers in facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid.

What does this mean? It means that providers are subject to the Omnibus healthcare Staff Vaccination rule in the 24 states covered by the supreme court decision. They need to establish plans and procedures to ensure their staff is vaccinated. And their employees must receive at least the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Feb. 14, 2022.

All of this means that compliance professionals need to jump straight into the trenches because there’s not a lot of time to enforce compliance with the CMS rule to vaccinate workers and remain in compliance with nondiscrimination and civil rights laws. Sound like a lot? It is. Also, rules and interpretive guidance are always subject to change, so staying up to date with the most current information is crucial.

Download our free eBrief, “Staff COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements,” to learn about this new Supreme Court decision and how to maintain compliance. In this eBrief, we discuss:

• Notable Exceptions to the Vaccine Requirements
• Noncompliance Enforcement
• Supreme Court Ruling & Enforcement Timelines