ARTICLE
As an update to the ongoing federal vaccine mandate court cases, INARF would like to inform members of the most recent movement last Friday. A federal appeals panel reinstated the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), requiring either vaccination or weekly testing for employees of companies with 100 or more employees. The decision, by a split three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, overturned a ruling last month by the Fifth Circuit, that had blocked the government from carrying out the standard. Some states have announced plans to file emergency motions with the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court can reinstate the stay while looking at the standard or keep the standard in place. We are already beyond the first deadline in the original rule that required multiple actions by employers by December 6. While we expect more guidance to come this week, the OSHA website currently states the following: "OSHA is gratified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved the Fifth Circuit’s stay of the Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard. OSHA can now once again implement this vital workplace health standard, which will protect the health of workers by mitigating the spread of the unprecedented virus in the workplace. To account for any uncertainty created by the stay, OSHA is exercising enforcement discretion with respect to the compliance dates of the ETS. To provide employers with sufficient time to come into compliance, OSHA will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements of the ETS before January 10 and will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard’s testing requirements before February 9, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard. OSHA will work closely with the regulated community to provide compliance assistance."
As an update to the ongoing federal vaccine mandate court cases, INARF would like to inform members of the most recent movement last Friday. A federal appeals panel reinstated the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), requiring either vaccination or weekly testing for employees of companies with 100 or more employees. The decision, by a split three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, overturned a ruling last month by the Fifth Circuit, that had blocked the government from carrying out the standard. Some states have announced plans to file emergency motions with the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court can reinstate the stay while looking at the standard or keep the standard in place.
We are already beyond the first deadline in the original rule that required multiple actions by employers by December 6. While we expect more guidance to come this week, the OSHA website currently states the following:
"OSHA is gratified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved the Fifth Circuit’s stay of the Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard. OSHA can now once again implement this vital workplace health standard, which will protect the health of workers by mitigating the spread of the unprecedented virus in the workplace.
To account for any uncertainty created by the stay, OSHA is exercising enforcement discretion with respect to the compliance dates of the ETS. To provide employers with sufficient time to come into compliance, OSHA will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements of the ETS before January 10 and will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard’s testing requirements before February 9, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard. OSHA will work closely with the regulated community to provide compliance assistance."