OSHA Withdraws COVID-19 Vaccination or Testing ETS
January 27, 2022
Publications
As explained in our previous post, on January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court blocked the OSHA vaccination or testing Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) pending full consideration of the matter by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. In response to the Supreme Court’s decision, OSHA is withdrawing the ETS, effective January 26, 2022.
Although OSHA is withdrawing the ETS as an “emergency temporary standard,” the ETS also serves as a proposed final rule, and OSHA made clear that its action does not affect the ETS’s status as such. Therefore, it is possible that OSHA could issue a final vaccination or testing rule. In response to the Supreme Court’s decision, OSHA could issue a narrower vaccine or test mandate limited to workplaces where the virus poses a special danger due to the nature of the work.
