Federal Court Allows OSHA COVID-19 Shot-or-Test Rule to Take Effect

As we previously reported, on November 6, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order staying enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) emergency temporary standard (ETS) which was announced on November 4, 2021.  The ETS requires most employers with 100 or more employees to require that their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing and wear a face covering at work. 

On December 17, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit—the federal court to which the matter was transferred—dissolved the stay of the ETS, thereby allowing OSHA to move forward with implementing the ETS.  To provide employers with sufficient time to come into compliance with the ETS, OSHA has announced that it will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements of the ETS before January 10, 2022, and will not issue citations for noncompliance with the standard’s testing requirements before February 9, 2022, as long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard. 

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