UPDATE to Federal OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard

Last month, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officially published their Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on Vaccination and Testing which stipulated vaccination mandates for applicable employers, scheduled to take effect on January 4, 2022.

Since its publication, OSHA has provided the following update:
“On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a motion to stay OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, published on November 5, 2021 (86 Fed. Reg. 61402) (‘ETS’). The court ordered that OSHA ‘take no steps to implement or enforce’ the ETS ‘until further court order.’ The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit now has jurisdiction over ETS challenges and DOL has filed a motion to lift the stay. While OSHA remains confident in its authority to protect workers in emergencies, OSHA has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation.”

Due to the lawsuits filed against the ETS, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board did not address this issue during its November meeting. Cal/OSHA’s Temporary COVID-19 Emergency Standards remain in effect and supporting documents can be found on the OSHSB website.

Though the future of the ETS remains unclear, employers should be prepared to comply should the stay be lifted. View Update