ETS NEWS 12/17/21 – 6th Circuit Dissolved the Stay of the OSHA ETS, Emergency Stay Application Filed, New Compliance Deadlines

A three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals dissolved the stay of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on vaccine mandates and testing on December 17, 2021. An emergency stay application has since been filed with the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and OSHA has announced new compliance deadlines for implementation and enforcement of the ETS.

6th Circuit Dissolved Stay on OSHA ETS

The court order does not mention deadline extensions, it simply grants “the Government’s motion and DISSOLVE[S] the stay issued by the Fifth Circuit.”  MCAA has filed a request with OSHA to extend enforcement deadlines so all employers can have time to develop the appropriate plans.

OSHA Announces New Compliance Deadlines

January 10, 2022: all requirements except testing

February 9, 2022: testing

OSHA “will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard’s testing requirements before February 9, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard.”

OSHA released the following statement: 

“To account for any uncertainty created by the stay, OSHA is exercising enforcement discretion with respect to the compliance dates of the ETS. To provide employers with sufficient time to come into compliance, OSHA will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements of the ETS before January 10 and will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard’s testing requirements before February 9, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard. OSHA will work closely with the regulated community to provide compliance assistance.”

Impact on MCAA Members

Unless SCOTUS acts, MCAA members with over 100 workers must require them to be vaccinated or tested weekly by the new compliance deadlines.

MCAA Offers Compliance Resources

MCAA’s Safety Bulletin on the ETS and the MCAA Model COVID-19 Mandatory-Vaccination Policy outline what needs to be done to be compliant with the ETS.

Watch for Updates As They Occur

MCAA will be closely monitoring SCOTUS and OSHA developments related to this issue and will communicate updates as they occur. In the meantime, questions may be addressed to MCAA’s Raffi Elchemmas.