To no one’s surprise, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has formally withdrawn the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) last year that required employers with 100 or more employees to impose mandatory COVID-19 vaccinate-or-test rules. DOL’s withdrawal of the ETS comes in the wake of the recent 6 – 3 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court blocking enforcement of the mandate pending a ruling on the merits and strongly suggesting that OSHA exceeded its authority in issuing the ETS.
In the meantime, the ultimate fate of a second of the Biden Administration’s three COVID-19 vaccine mandates, this one applying to certain federal contractors, remains in flux after the federal court that enjoined the mandate nationwide in December recently clarified that while the injunction remains in place, it extends only to the vaccine mandate, and not to other provisions requiring covered contractors to take action.
The third mandate, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) interim final rule requiring certified Medicare and Medicaid health care providers to ensure that their staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, was cleared for enforcement by the Court on the same day the Court blocked the OSHA mandate.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.