September 15, 2021
On September 9, President Joe Biden announced the six-part “Path Out of the Pandemic.”
As part of his plan, businesses with at least 100 employees will soon be required to mandate that employees get vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing. Employers are still waiting for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an emergency temporary standard (ETS). OSHA has the authority to issue an ETS only if it can show:
- Employees are exposed to grave danger from the hazard, and
- The ETS is necessary to protect employees from that danger.
Historically speaking, in the nine times OSHA has issued an ETS, the courts have fully vacated the ETS in four cases and partially vacated the ETS in one case. An ETS can remain in place for six months before it must be replaced by a permanent OSHA standard which involves formal rulemaking and a notice-and-comment period.
If you have questions regarding this or any other matter, please contact the attorneys at Warrick & Boyn, LLP. Contact us today.