According to a White House press release, the deadline for contractors to ensure covered contractor employees are vaccinated will be delayed until January 4th. In addition, workplaces covered by the contractor vaccine mandate will not be covered by OSHA's Emergency Temporary Standard. Here is the relevant excerpt from the White House's announcement:

“Employees falling under the ETS, CMS [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services], or federal contractor rules will need to have their final vaccination dose – either their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or single dose of Johnson & Johnson – by January 4, 2022. OSHA is also clarifying that it will not apply its new rule to workplaces covered by either the CMS rule or the federal contractor vaccination requirement. 

The Safer Federal Workplace Task Force has not yet updated its Guidance or FAQs to reflect this change to the deadline, but we will continue to monitor that information.  

Constangy is continuing to review the OSHA ETS and CMS rules, which were just released this morning. We will publish additional bulletins and briefings as soon as possible.