OSHA Vaccine and Testing Mandate Delayed by Court Stay

December 6th was supposed to be the first deadline for companies with 100 or more employees to comply with OSHA’s emergency temporary standard (ETS) by mandating vaccinations or requiring weekly testing. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently halted enforcement of OSHA’s ETS, though the Sixth Circuit Court should soon issue a decision on the temporary stay, NAHBNow reports.

The delay comes after significant backlash and legal challenges from many companies, but despite industry-wide pushback, OSHA is still issuing citations for those that aren’t taking proper steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Today was supposed to be the first big deadline for complying with the OSHA emergency temporary standard (ETS). Among the requirements, companies with more than 100 employees were to have a written plan in place to comply with the ETS, determined the vaccination status of all workers and required face coverings for all unvaccinated workers.

An order from the Fifth Circuit Court on Nov. 12 stayed all enforcement of the ETS. Many major challenges to the ETS were consolidated into a case now before the Sixth Circuit Court. OSHA has asked that court to dissolve the stay, which will see responses and replies this week.

Although there is a stay on the vaccine/testing ETS, OSHA is still issuing citations regarding COVID-19 safety. Just last week, a grocery store in Georgia received nearly $10,000 in fines after an OSHA inspector found that it “did not develop and implement timely and effective measures to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2.”

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