U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Vaccine or Test Mandate for Large Employers
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision on Thursday, blocked enforcement of the federal OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for large employers, which would have required workers to be vaccinated against COVID or wear masks and be tested weekly. The second mandate at issue, which applies to workers at hospitals and other health care facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid, was allowed to proceed.
This latest judicial action creates uncertainty for the 22 State-plan states like Washington, which operate their own OSHA-approved job safety and health programs. State programs were required to inform OSHA of their plans for adopting a vaccine or test/mask mandate by January 7, 2022, and required to adopt a state rule, at least as effective as OSHA’s, by January 24th. There has been no official confirmation from Washington State regarding the vaccine mandate and whether it would adopt the OSHA ETS in its current form or take a more restrictive stance.
It is unclear whether some or all of these states will proceed with implementing their own vaccine-or-test mandates, despite this latest blow to the federal OSHA ETS. Associated Industries will continue to keep our members informed as developments are announced.