Enforceable Employer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Withdrawn

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced it is withdrawing the enforceable COVID-19 vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard (ETS).

The ETS was issued on November. 5, 2021, to protect unvaccinated employees of large employers with 100 or more employees from workplace exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. 

This OSHA action becomes effective in the Federal Register on January 26, 2022.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement on January 13, 2022, regarding the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

“I am disappointed in the court’s decision, which is a major setback to the health and safety of workers across the country.”

“OSHA stands by the Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard as the best way to protect the nation’s workforce from a deadly virus that is infecting more than 750,000 Americans each day and has taken the lives of nearly a million Americans.”

Although OSHA is withdrawing the vaccination and testing ETS as an enforceable ETS, the agency is not withdrawing the ETS as a proposed rule. 

The agency is ‘prioritizing its resources to focus on finalizing a permanent COVID-19 Healthcare Standard.’

However, OSHA strongly encourages the vaccination of workers against the health risk posed by COVID-19 in the workplace.

This OSHA webpage includes FAQs and answers related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In States with OSHA-approved State Plans, additional guidance, provisions, or requirements may apply. Check here for a list of current State Plans and a link to their website for any additional information:

OSHA is located at 200 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20210O.

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