NV Update On OSHA’s Vaccination Mandate For Larger Employers

Unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, Nevada’s larger employers can reasonably expect that Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (NV OSHA) will adopt the federal OSHA’s Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on January 24, 2022. As long as employers are working in good faith and taking reasonable steps to meet the ETS’s requirements, NV OSHA will give employers a 30-day grace period to comply with the majority of its components and a 60-day grace period to comply with its testing components.

Nevada OSHA has not announced an intention to develop its own vaccination standard, and the most recent announcement from the agency remains the December 27, 2021 update. The agency’s response to our inquiry also made no mention of a separate Nevada-specific standard. Accordingly, we believe Nevada’s larger employers (with 100 or more employees) should plan to be ready to begin implementing many of the federal ETS’s requirements by January 24.

As you know, the legal challenge to OSHA’s vaccine mandate is currently being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments from the parties on January 7. The Court did not stay the ETS, however, and no decision has yet been issued. As such, in many states, OSHA’s vaccine mandate is now in effect; it will likely go into effect in Nevada on January 24 unless the Supreme Court finds it is unlawful.

We are closely monitoring the Supreme Court case and will keep you updated. As always, KZA attorneys are available to answer your questions.

KZA Employer Report articles are for general information only; they are not intended and should not be construed to be legal advice. Reading or replying to such articles does not establish an attorney-client relationship. In addition, because the subject matters and applicable laws discussed in Employer Report articles are often in a state of change and not always applicable to every type of business entity or organization, readers should consult with counsel before making decisions based on the same.