Court Reinstates OSHA Vaccination Mandate for Private Employers

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.

Impact on Employers
The 6th Circuit’s decision suggests the ETS may survive its legal challenges. Employers subject to the ETS should monitor legal developments closely. They should also consider what measures they would need to adopt to be considered to have made reasonable, good faith efforts to comply if the Supreme Court upholds the ETS.

Our original webinar “Emergency Webinar for an Emergency Order – Complying with OSHA’s COVID-19 ETS” is still available on demand here, and the webinar’s presentation slides are available for download as well. Please keep in mind that the original compliance dates of Dec. 6, 2021, and Jan. 4, 2022, listed in the presentation are now Jan. 10 and Feb. 9, 2022, as mentioned above.

Remember, you have access to multiple tools to comply with the OHSA ETS available below:

• COVID-19 All-in-One Vaccination Tracker
• COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS Frequently Asked Questions
• OSHA COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Policy Requirements for Employers
• OSHA COVID-19 ETS Determination of Employee Vaccine Status
• OSHA COVID-19 ETS Recordkeeping Requirements
• OSHA COVID-19 ETS Sample Mandatory Vaccination Policy
• OSHA COVID-19 ETS Sample Employee Choice Vaccination Policy
• Accommodation Request Form – Medical Exemption From COVID-19 Vaccine
• Accommodation Request Form – Religious Exemption From COVID-19 Vaccine
• COVID-19 Vaccine Accommodation – Approval Letter
• COVID-19 Vaccine Accommodation – Denial Letter
• COVID-19 Vaccination Status Self-reporting Form