New Jersey Expands Vaccination Mandate To Include Boosters And Eliminate Testing Exemptions

On January 19, 2022, New Jersey Governor Murphy signed Executive Order No. 283, which requires workers at health care and high-risk congregate settings to be up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccinations, including any booster shots for which workers are eligible. There is no testing alternative. The Order also requires covered settings to have a disciplinary process for noncompliance, including and up to termination of employment.

For purposes of the Order:

• "Health care settings" include: acute, pediatric, inpatient rehabilitation, and psychiatric hospitals, including specialty hospitals, and ambulatory surgical centers; long-term care facilities; intermediate care facilities; residential detox, short-term and long-term residential substance abuse disorder treatment facilities; clinic-based settings like ambulatory care, urgent care clinics, dialysis centers, Federally Qualified Health Centers, family planning sites, and Opioid Treatment Programs; community-based healthcare settings including Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly, pediatric and adult medical daycare programs, and licensed home health agencies and registered health care service firms operating within the state.

• "High-risk congregate settings" include: State and county correctional facilities; all congregate care settings operated by the Juvenile Justice Commission, which includes secure care facilities and residential community homes; licensed community residences for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities ("IDD") and traumatic brain injury ("TBI"); licensed community residences for adults with mental illness; certified day programs for individuals with IDD and TBI; and group homes and psychiatric community homes licensed by the Department of Children and Families. 

• Workers include full and part-time employees, contractors, and other individuals working in the covered settings, including those who provide operational, custodial, or administrative support. 

Workers of covered settings subject to the Biden Administration's vaccine mandate will have until January 27, 2022 to obtain their first dose of the primary series of a COVID-19 vaccination, and must submit proof that they are fully vaccinated, including boosters for those eligible, by February 28, 2022. Workers of covered settings not subject to the Biden Administration's vaccinate mandate will have until February 16, 2022 to obtain their first dose, and must submit proof that they are fully up-to-date by March 30, 2022. Workers who become eligible for a booster dose after the respective February 28 and March 30 deadlines will be required to submit proof of their booster shot within three weeks of becoming eligible.

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