Member Forum Recap – December 2021
IECRM MEMBER FORUM
Mandates. Guidelines. Protocols.
Everything you Need to Know to Close Out 2021 and Prepare for the Year Ahead!
Hosted by IECRM on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, 7:30 AM – 8:30 AM
IECRM is honored to provide our members with value-rich forums that pertain to our industry. Below you will
find a bulleted recap of the discussion and helpful links to resources.
Watch the VIDEO RECORDING of this week’s forum: Mandates. Guidelines. Protocols: Everything you Need to
Know to Close Out 2021 and Prepare for the Year Ahead!
If you have any questions to ask of our subject matter experts or suggestions for future Member Forums, please
contact IECRM CEO Marilyn Akers Stansbury at [email protected] or 303.853.4886.
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS:
● Kristin White, Attorney at Law
Fisher & Phillips, LLP
[email protected] | O: (303) 218-3658
https://www.fisherphillips.com/offices-denver
● Steve Killius, Vice President Contractor Industry Affairs
Legrand Cablofil
[email protected] | O: (732) 241-0418
● David Jones
QED Supply
[email protected] | O: (303) 356-9958
RELEVANT RESOURCES
● Comprehensive FAQs for Employers on the OSHA Vaccine Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS)
● Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) Mandate
● Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate Now Blocked Nationwide: A Playbook for Federal Contractors and
● Colorado Secure Savings Plan
Where we are on vaccine mandates on the Federal level?
● OSHA ETS was put on hold by the 5th Circuit court in November. Lawsuits were filed throughout the
county.
IECRM MEMBER FORUM
Mandates. Guidelines. Protocols.
Everything you Need to Know to Close Out
2021 and Prepare for the Year Ahead!
● All suits are moved to one court (the 6th Circuit Court won the lottery). OSHA has asked the 6th Circuit to
remove the stay of order while litigation is going on. They asked them to accelerate the briefing but that
was also denied.
● OSHA has asked the Court to move it back to the 5th Circuit. That is not going to happen. They also asked
for all judges in the 6th Circuit to hear. That’s not how it works. It is three judges that will rule. All
deadlines are currently on hold.
● “All deadlines are currently on hold.” What does this mean? In the interim, it is advised to get the
vaccination status of employees which is legal. In Colorado, it is ok to get the vaccination status of
employees. That is not true in all states, so check if you are outside of Colorado.
● Question about gathering vaccine status – for a period of time, it was not recommended to get a copy of
vaccine cards but to just ask yes/no questions. You can do it either way. If the OSHA ETS goes forward, then
you may have to have this record accessible for six months. You should not have to worry about the 30-year
record retention.
○ Yesterday, a federal judge put the mandate on hold for all states. Waiting to see Federal response
to this hold on the mandate.
○ Recommended: Wait and see what comes out federally or what is required by the contracting
officer.
○ It is not recommended to terminate any federal contract workers at this time.
○ Question – is the testing now not acceptable for Federal contracts? The Federal rule was MUST be
vaccinated unless the worker has a medical or religious exemption. That was the only exemption
for testing accommodation. Officially, you did not have to be in compliance yet because the rule
was to be in place on January 18, 2022.
● The other mandate that was put on hold was the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) which
stated that all health care facilities had to mandate vaccinations. 15 major companies have done away with
their vaccine mandates so far. That doesn’t impact our contractors as much because our state mandates
supersede this mandate.
On the State level:
● Still have mandate for health care workers.
● Mandate still in place for contractors going into state buildings. The city of Denver (still under litigation)
requires vaccination as well. Have not seen a judge issue a stay on that. Still in effect.
● So basically, the Fed mandates are on hold, but others (like Jeffco, Denver, etc) can enforce the mandates
that they have come out with? As can private employers – correct? This is correct unless you apply for
exemption with CDHE because you have 95% or higher vaccination rate. Private employers can have their
own rules that are tighter than the state or county mandates.
Paid Sick Leave in 2022?
● On 1/1/2022 all businesses in Colorado will have to offer up to 48 hours of paid sick leave per employee.
This is not COVID-related.
● The public health emergency leave is also still in place. Once the federal declaration of emergency ends,
the supplemental 32 hours for COVID leave will also end. This is a one-time supplement that does not
renew in 2022. Keep track so that you know if employees have used the supplemental leave.
IECRM MEMBER FORUM
Mandates. Guidelines. Protocols.
Everything you Need to Know to Close Out
2021 and Prepare for the Year Ahead!
● State Family Medical Leave program will hit in 2023/2024.
● Starting to see complaints about that.
● In 2021, the state has been in an education mode but will likely transition into enforcement mode in 2022.
● High level – you have to give notice to all employees prior to promoting someone else in the company.
○ Question: As an electrical contractor, we have apprentices that are getting ready to test for
journeymen. If they pass the test, do we have to post an “open” position since they will be
considered journeymen (new position) and receive a bump in pay?
○ Answer: It does fit within the notice requirement but a static notice can work as long as the
notification goes out 24 hours prior to promotion. (See CDL Statement #9)
Distribution Issues
The 11/14 episode of 60 Minutes has an entire segment dedicated to the topic of Freight Expectations that is very
informative. It is the first segment of the episode.
● What are you seeing? What do you expect to see differently in 2022?
○ Logistical issues-shortage of truck drivers. We can often meet production schedules but have
challenges getting products out.
○ With inflation, everything is more expensive
● Outlook? This will continue in 2022 but hopefully, it will be better by mid-year.
● As a global company, what other countries are doing impacts it as well. Some countries have shut down
again with new variants.
● Recommended engaging earlier in what your needs may be.
Ideas on Giving Bids/Quotes
● Question: Without being able to project costs and delivery of product, how can a contractor give an accurate
bid?
● Answer: Quotes used to be good for 30 days but with the current climate, this is not necessarily true today.
Build-in some flexibility. It has to remain very fluid.
● There are challenges to passing along the most up-to-date information. Some quotes are factored with the
price hikes, while others are not.
● Locally, the pressure that they are finding is also in the workforce (getting drivers and additional staff) that
is causing issues of getting materials to the contractors where and when they need it.
● Q: What are the things that seem to be more challenging from a product standpoint than others?
○ Switchgear is the highest needed item
○ PVC is still an issue – still slow in arriving
○ A lot of plastic materials have a long lead time (up to six months or so)
IECRM MEMBER FORUM
Mandates. Guidelines. Protocols.
Everything you Need to Know to Close Out
2021 and Prepare for the Year Ahead!
● The real key to all of this is to communicate – make your needs known well in advance of when you actually
need them onsite. Read the emails you are receiving from your distributor. You may not like what they see,
but the information is important to know.
● Transition to digital format over phone calls or in-person visits. This gives you control over when you are
ordering, requesting a quote, etc. This helps expedite the process. This will also give you the opportunity
to see the availability of materials and current pricing.