The Latest on the Federal Vaccination Mandates & Compliance Deadlines
(December 29, 2021) - Last week saw a flurry of activity as the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear legal challenges to the Biden Administration’s employer vaccine mandates January 7.
As you may be aware, the federal government has issued vaccine mandates requiring employers with more than 100 employees to establish a vaccine requirement policy for their workforce or implement weekly testing for all unvaccinated employees. Just this past week, a federal court order staying the enforcement of the OSHA-ETS has been lifted by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, requiring employers with more than 100 employees to take immediate action to establish a compliance policy (if they have not previously done so).
Even though the Supreme Court will be hearing the case in January, a ruling will likely not happen before the deadlines for compliance. As a result, employers should make sure that have implemented and are enforcing a policy (vaccination requirement or vaccination/weekly testing requirement) by OSHA’s new deadlines:
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January 10, 2022–OSHA will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements of the rule before January 10, 2022.
- February 9, 2022–OSHA will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard’s testing requirements before February 9, 2022, so long as an employer is “exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard.”
Need additional guidance? Access a free online webinar, presented by Jason Branciforte, SC&RA Counsel and shareholder, Littler Mendelson P.C., which explains what’s required and how to position your company for OSHA compliance. View the webinar,
What SC&RA Members Need to Know About COVID Mandates for Federal Contractors and 100+ Employee Companies, today.