from our partners at Polsinelli
The Biden Administration issued a Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on Thursday, November 4th, which the Fifth Circuit halted on Saturday, November 13th, the Administration also issued a rule for certain healthcare providers accepting Medicare and Medicaid funding and it pushed back the compliance date for federal
contractors to comply with a third vaccination mandate. So where does that leave you? Glad you asked. Read on to learn more.
First, the much-anticipated Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ETS for employers of 100 or more employees was published in the Federal Register on Friday. It requires covered employers to establish, implement, and enforce a written mandatory vaccination policy. Alternatively, it requires covered employers to establish, implement, and enforce a written policy allowing any employee not subject to a mandatory vaccination policy to choose either to be fully
vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide proof of regular testing for COVID-19 and wear a face covering.
(NAHC presented an important new webinar, Unraveling the CMS and OSHA COVID -19 Mandatory Vaccination and Testing Requirements, on Tuesday, November 16. If you missed it live, you can still watch it at your convenience. It is free to all NAHC members. Learn more and register now!)
The Fifth Circuit then issued a stay on Saturday, citing “grave statutory and constitutional” issues. Thus, for now, the pause button has been hit. The ultimate fate of the ETS, however, may depend on the federal appeals court that hears the merits of the legal challenge. I say this because lawsuits calling for the ETS to be scrapped have been filed in the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits. As a result, there will be a lottery held to determine which court will hear a consolidated challenge to the ETS. The matter will then likely go to the Supreme Court.