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HomeMy WebLinkAboutX-E-01 OSHA Vaccine and Testing Policy City Council Memorandum To: Mayor Fasbender & City Councilmembers From: City Administrator Dan Wietecha Date: January 3, 2022 Item: OSHA Vaccine and Testing Requirement Council Actions Requested: • Review and approve City of Hastings Vaccination, Testing, and Face Covering Policy • Approve implementation of “wellness day” and stipend incentive for employee vaccinations. • Authorize necessary expenditures to implement this policy, recognizing the need for a future budget amendment. Background Information: The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). This ETS requires all employers with 100 or more employees (which includes the City of Hastings) to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require those who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis and be masked when working indoors. The ETS had been delayed in the courts, but was cleared December 17, 2021. There is presently an appeal to the US Supreme Court, but at this time the ETS is the legal requirement. OSHA has indicated that it will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements of the ETS prior to January 10 and will issue no citations for noncompliance with the testing requirements prior to February 9, as long as we are exercising reasonable and good-faith efforts to come into compliance. MN-OSHA is expected to issue identical requirements by January 3. Please note that the MN-OSHA or Supreme Court actions could change the requirements in the next few days, but under present law we need to have a vaccine/testing policy in place and begin good faith implementation by January 10. Regular testing procedures need to start by February 9. Key features of the operational policy: • We will not mandate that employees get vaccinated, instead emphasizing that employees have the option to either vaccinate or have weekly testing with a mask requirement. • We will request vaccination status of all employees in the coming days. We have set up a portal on our Neo-gov system for employees to provide documentation. Employees who do not reply as fully vaccinated will be consider not vaccinated and subject to the weekly testing and mask requirements. • The definition of fully vaccinated is 2 weeks since the second shot of Pfizer or Moderna or the shot of J&J. X-E-01 • All medical information, including vaccination information and test results, will be treated in accordance with applicable laws and policies on confidentiality and privacy. • Non-vaccinated employees will be required to be masked with limited exceptions. This is stricter than our requirement that employees be masked when they cannot consistent maintain social distancing. • We will emphasize confidentiality and discretion in testing. • Testing will be done in-person and administered by employee supervisors. This may change depending on MN-OSHA regulations, budget, or other practical options. • Testing will be at City expense. This unknown cost (based on test cost, number of employees, and test frequency) will require a budget amendment. These costs are eligible for payment with the ARPA funds. • The OSHA definition for employee is based on whether the person is compensated by the City. This includes part-time and seasonal employees. Volunteers (including Commission members) or “contract” employees are not included. It is presently unclear whether City Councilmembers are included. OSHA has said that state law would apply, and Minnesota allows cities to determine if their elected officials are employees for a variety of reasons. The City of Hastings Employee Handbook clearly states that elected officials are not covered by the policies of the Handbook. MN-OSHA regulations are anticipated by January 3 and may provide greater clarity regarding City Councilmembers. • Vaccination Incentive: Because of the ongoing work and staff time that will be involved in weekly tests, the costs of the tests themselves, and to encourage employees to be vaccinated, we are recommending adoption of an incentive that would provide a paid “wellness day” for regular employees who are vaccinated and share that status with the City. This would be a full shift and would need to be scheduled according to existing procedures by the end of the year. It would not be paid out upon separation of employment. For paid-on-call and seasonal employees, who work flexible schedules, we instead recommend a stipend of $100 for POC and for seasonal employees normally scheduled for over 20 hours per week and $50 for seasonal employees normally scheduled for 20 or fewer hours per week. • Our existing Minnesota-required COVID-19 Preparedness Plan is being updated for consistency with requirements of this policy, as well as updates to City and CDC procedures. • Visitors, volunteers, and other non-employees are not subject to the requirements of this policy. Financial Impact: Based on number of employees, test costs, and test frequency, an undetermined budget amendment will be necessary to cover testing costs and incentive payments. Committee Discussion: Not applicable Attachments: City of Hastings Vaccination, Testing, and Face Covering Policy X-E-01 1 Purpose: Vaccination is a vital tool to reduce the presence and severity of COVID-19 cases in the workplace, in communities, and in the nation as a whole. The City of Hastings encourages all employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccination to protect themselves and other employees. However, should an employee choose not to be vaccinated, this policy’s sections on testing and face coverings will apply. This policy complies with OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard on Vaccination and Testing (29 CFR 1910.501). Scope: This COVID-19 Policy on vaccination, testing, and face covering use applies to all employees of the City of Hastings. [Pending MN-OSHA clarification, this will need description of City Council or other exceptions.] All employees are encouraged to be fully vaccinated. Employees are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after completing primary vaccination with a COVID-19 vaccine with, if applicable, at least the minimum recommended interval between doses. For example, this includes two weeks after a second dose in a two-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, or two weeks after the second dose of any combination of two doses of different COVID-19 vaccines as part of one primary vaccination series. Employees who are not fully vaccinated will be required to provide proof of weekly COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at the workplace. All employees are required to report their vaccination status and, if vaccinated, provide proof of vaccination. Employees must provide truthful and accurate information about their COVID-19 vaccination status, and, if not fully vaccinated, their testing results. Employees who do not report as fully vaccinated will be considered as not vaccinated under this policy. Employees may request an exception from vaccination requirements (if applicable) if the vaccine is medically contraindicated for them or medical necessity requires a delay in vaccination. Employees also may be legally entitled to a reasonable accommodation if they cannot be vaccinated and/or wear a face covering (as otherwise required by this policy) because of a disability, or if the provisions in this policy for vaccination, and/or testing for COVID-19, and/or wearing a face covering conflict with a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance. Requests for exceptions and reasonable accommodations must be initiated by the employee. Procedures: Overview and General Information Vaccination Any City of Hastings employee that chooses to or is required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 must be fully vaccinated no later than February 9, 2022. Any employee not fully vaccinated by February 9, 2022 will be subject to the regular testing and face covering requirements of the policy. City of Hastings Vaccination, Testing, and Face Covering Policy X-E-01 2 To be fully vaccinated by February 9, 2022, an employee must: o Obtain the first dose of a two dose vaccine no later than [Date]; and the second dose no later than January 26, 2022; or o Obtain one dose of a single dose vaccine no later than January 26, 2022. Employees will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the requisite number of doses of a COVID-19 vaccine as stated above. An employee will be considered partially vaccinated if they have received only one dose of a two dose vaccine. Testing and Face Coverings All employees who are not fully vaccinated as of February 9, 2022 will be required to undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering when in the workplace. Policies and procedures for testing and face coverings are described in the relevant sections of this policy. Vaccination Status and Acceptable Forms of Proof of Vaccination Vaccinated Employees All vaccinated employees are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, regardless of where they received vaccination. Proof of vaccination status can be submitted via Neogov portal or the Human Resources Department. Acceptable proof of vaccination status is: 1. The record of immunization from a health care provider or pharmacy; 2. A copy of the COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card; 3. A copy of medical records documenting the vaccination; 4. A copy of immunization records from a public health, state, or tribal immunization information system; or 5. A copy of any other official documentation that contains the type of vaccine administered, date(s) of administration, and the name of the health care professional(s) or clinic site(s) administering the vaccine(s). Proof of vaccination generally should include the employee’s name, the type of vaccine administered, the date(s) of administration, and the name of the health care professional(s) or clinic site(s) that administered the vaccine. In some cases, state immunization records may not include one or more of these data fields, such as clinic site; in those circumstances the City of Hastings will still accept the state immunization record as acceptable proof of vaccination. If an employee is unable to produce one of these acceptable forms of proof of vaccination, despite attempts to do so (e.g., by trying to contact the vaccine administrator or state health department), the employee can provide a signed and dated statement attesting to their vaccination status (fully vaccinated or partially vaccinated); attesting that they have lost and are otherwise unable to produce one of the other forms of acceptable proof; and including the following language: “I declare (or certify, verify, or state) that this statement about my vaccination status is true and accurate. I understand that knowingly providing false X-E-01 3 information regarding my vaccination status on this form may subject me to criminal penalties.” An employee who attests to their vaccination status in this way should to the best of their recollection, include in their attestation the type of vaccine administered, the date(s) of administration, and the name of the health care professional(s) or clinic site(s) administering the vaccine. A tracking list of employees and vaccination status as well as digital copies of proof of vaccination will be maintained the Human Resources Department. This documentation is considered private medical data. All Employees All employees, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, must inform the City of Hastings of their vaccination status. The following table outlines the requirements for submitting vaccination status documentation. Any employee who has not submitted proof of full vaccination will be considered as not vaccinated for purposes of this policy. Supporting COVID-19 Vaccination An employee may take up to four hours of paid time per dose to travel to the vaccination site, receive a vaccination, and return to work. This would mean a maximum of eight hours of paid time for employees receiving two doses. If an employee spends less time getting the vaccine, only the necessary amount of paid time will be granted. Employees who take longer than four hours to get the vaccine must send their department head an email documenting the reason for the additional time (e.g., they may need to travel long distances to get the vaccine). Any additional time requested will be granted, if reasonable. If an employee is vaccinated outside of their approved duty time they will not be compensated. Employees may utilize up to two workdays of emergency sick leave or sick leave immediately following each dose if they have side effects from the COVID-19 vaccination that prevent them from working. Employees who have no sick leave will be granted up to two days of additional sick leave immediately following each dose if necessary. Vaccination Status Instructions Deadline(s) Employees who are fully vaccinated. Submit proof of vaccination that indicates full vaccination. 2/1/2022 Employees who are partially vaccinated (i.e., one dose of a two dose vaccine series). Submit proof of vaccination that indicates when the first dose of vaccination was received, followed by proof of the second dose when it is obtained. 2/1/2022 Employees who are not vaccinated. Submit statement that you are unvaccinated, but are planning to receive a vaccination by the deadline. 2/1/2022 Submit statement that you are unvaccinated and not planning to receive a vaccination. 2/1/2022 X-E-01 4 • Employee Vaccination Incentive: Because of the ongoing work and staff time that will be involved in weekly tests, the costs of the tests themselves, and to encourage employees to be vaccinated, the City of Hastings will provide a paid “wellness day” for regular employees who are vaccinated and share that status with the City. This would be a full shift and would need to be scheduled according to existing procedures by the end of the year. It would not be paid out upon separation of employment. For paid-on-call and seasonal employees, who work flexible schedules, the City of Hastings will instead provide a stipend of $100 for POC and for seasonal employees normally scheduled for over 20 hours per week and $50 for seasonal employees normally scheduled for 20 or fewer hours per week. Employee Notification of COVID-19 and Removal from the Workplace The City of Hastings requires employees to promptly notify their supervisor or Department Head when they have tested positive for COVID-19 or have been diagnosed with COVID-19 by a licensed healthcare provider. Employees will follow work rules for call-in procedures. Employees who test positive for or are diagnosed with COVID-19 will be able to use available leave including, emergency sick leave, sick leave, vacation leave, compensatory time, and floating holidays. All procedures governing various leave options remain in effect, and the employee must continue to follow normal leave notification procedures established by the Employee Handbook or collective bargaining agreement. Medical Removal from the Workplace The City of Hastings has also implemented a policy for keeping COVID-19 positive employees from the workplace in certain circumstances. An employee who comes to work ill, exhibiting flu-like symptoms, or tests positive for COVID-19 will be immediately separated from other employees and will be sent home or to seek medical care, as appropriate. If an employee exhibits flu-like symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19 while at work, areas visited by the ill person will be closed until cleaned and disinfected. Cleaning and disinfection will include all areas used by the ill person, such as offices, bathrooms, and common areas. Cleaning and disinfection will focus especially on frequently touched surfaces. Please see “COVID-19 Preparedness Plan for City of Hastings” for additional information. Return to Work Criteria For any employee removed because they are COVID-19 positive, the City of Hastings will keep them removed from the workplace until: • The employee receives a negative result on a COVID-19 nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) following a positive result on a COVID-19 antigen test if the employee chooses to seek a NAAT test for confirmatory testing, or • The employee meets the return to work criteria in CDC’s “Isolation Guidance,” or • The employee receives a recommendation to return to work from a licensed healthcare provider. X-E-01 5 As of December 30, 2021, the CDC’s “Isolation Guidance,” asymptomatic employees may return to work once 5 days have passed since the positive test, and symptomatic employees may return to work after all the following are true: • At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared, and • At least 24 hours have passed with no fever without fever-reducing medication, and • Other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving (loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months and need not delay the end of isolation). If an employee has severe COVID-19 or an immune disease, the City of Hastings will follow the guidance of a licensed healthcare provider regarding return to work. COVID-19 Testing [Pending MN-OSHA clarification, this section may need to be revised.] All employees who are not fully vaccinated will be required to comply with this policy for testing. Employees who report to the workplace at least once every seven days: (A) must be tested for COVID-19 at least once every seven days; and (B) must provide documentation of the most recent COVID-19 test result to [the supervisor] no later than the seventh day following the date on which the employee last provided a test result. Any employee who does not report to the workplace during a period of seven or more days (e.g., if they were teleworking for two weeks prior to reporting to the workplace): (A) must be tested for COVID-19 within seven days prior to returning to the workplace; and (B) must provide documentation of that test result to [the supervisor] upon return to the workplace. If an employee does not provide documentation of a COVID-19 test result as required by this policy, they will be removed from the workplace until they provide a test result. Employees who have received a positive COVID-19 test, or have been diagnosed with COVID-19 by a licensed healthcare provider, are not required to undergo COVID-19 testing for 90 days following the date of their positive test or diagnosis. The City of Hastings will pay for and provide rapid tests. Testing will be done in person and administered by an employee’s supervisor or Department Head. To the extent feasible, testing will maintain employee confidentiality. Test result are considered private medical information. Face Coverings The City of Hastings will require all employees who are not fully vaccinated to wear a face covering. Face coverings must: (i) completely cover the nose and mouth; (ii) be made with two or more layers of a breathable fabric that is tightly woven (i.e., fabrics that do not let light pass through when held up to a light source); (iii) be secured to the head with ties, ear loops, or elastic bands that go behind the head. If gaiters are worn, they should have two layers of fabric or be folded to make two layers; (iv) fit snugly X-E-01 6 over the nose, mouth, and chin with no large gaps on the outside of the face; and (v) be a solid piece of material without slits, exhalation valves, visible holes, punctures, or other openings. Acceptable face coverings include clear face coverings or cloth face coverings with a clear plastic panel that, despite the non-cloth material allowing light to pass through, otherwise meet these criteria and which may be used to facilitate communication with people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing or others who need to see a speaker’s mouth or facial expressions to understand speech or sign language respectively. Employees who are not fully vaccinated must wear face coverings over the nose and mouth when indoors and when occupying a vehicle with another person for work purposes. Policies and procedures for face coverings will be implemented, along with the other provisions required by OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS, as part of a multi-layered infection control approach for unvaccinated workers. An employee may use a face covering they have purchased or one supplied by the City of Hastings. The following are exceptions to the City of Hastings’s requirements for face coverings: 1. When an employee is alone in a room with floor to ceiling walls and a closed door. 2. For a limited time, while an employee is eating or drinking at the workplace or for identification purposes in compliance with safety and security requirements. 3. When an employee is wearing a respirator or facemask. 4. Where the City of Hastings has determined that the use of face coverings is infeasible or creates a greater hazard (e.g., when it is important to see the employee’s mouth for reasons related to their job duties, when the work requires the use of the employee’s uncovered mouth, or when the use of a face covering presents a risk of serious injury or death to the employee). New Hires: All new employees are required to comply with the vaccination, testing, and face covering requirements outlined in this policy as soon as practicable and as a condition of employment. Potential candidates for employment will be notified of the requirements of this policy prior to the start of employment. New employees will be considered not vaccinated and subject to testing and face covering requirements until they have submitted documentation as fully vaccinated. Confidentiality and Privacy: All medical information collected from individuals, including vaccination information, test results, and any other information obtained as a result of testing, will be treated in accordance with applicable laws and policies on confidentiality and privacy. Questions: Please direct any questions regarding this policy to Assistant City Administrator Kelly Murtaugh. This model plan is intended to provide information about OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard. The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to comply with safety and health standards promulgated by OSHA or by a state with an OSHA-approved state plan. However, this model plan is not itself a standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal obligations. X-E-01