Workplace Vaccine Mandate Update – Appeals Court Lifts Stay
Workplace Vaccine Mandate Update – Appeals Court Lifts Stay
NATE has been monitoring actions surrounding the proposed federal vaccine mandate, including OSHA’s public comment period and various legal battles. Recently, a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the Biden administration’s federal vaccine mandate. This ruling dissolves the Fifth Circuit’s stay – which put the vaccine mandate on hold – that had been in place since November.
After the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling, OSHA released the following statement: “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.”
You can read NATE’s previous alert regarding the vaccine mandate. NATE has also submitted public comments to OSHA.
For more information, please refer to OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS webpage, which provides access to the regulatory text, fact sheets, a pre-recorded webinar, sample policies, frequently asked questions, and links to related Department of Labor (DOL) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) resources.
Be assured, NATE will continue to keep members up to date on these activities and share contractors’ concerns with public officials.
