Are employers required to provide paid time off (PTO) for mandated COVID-19 vaccines?

Details will be spelled out in a forthcoming emergency temporary standard (ETS) from the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), but the initial announcement from the Biden Administration included a reference to PTO for the time it takes for workers to get vaccinated, or the time it takes to recover if they are feeling unwell post-vaccination. The announcement did not, however, cover PTO for testing. For insight on that, look to current law.

Employers commonly ask if they must pay for an employee’s time to attend a medical appointment (such as a mandatory drug test). Essentially, if the employee is seeking any type of medical attention at an employer’s direction, then the time must be paid.

The Department of Labor (DOL) regulations for hours worked state: Time spent by an employee in waiting for and receiving medical attention on the premises or at the direction of the employer during the employee’s normal working hours on days when they are working constitutes hours worked.

For example, if an employee is injured at work, and the employer sends the employee to see a doctor for evaluation, the employee is acting under the direction of the employer. That time must be paid. However, it is yet unclear whether employers could require employees to use their sick/PTO time to cover the absence for a vaccine.