OSHA Withdraws Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Jonathan Lips

OSHA has officially withdrawn its Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision forbidding OHSA from enforcing it. The standard would have applied to all employers with 100 or more employees and required businesses to implement a vaccine mandate or weekly testing option for all employees.

The withdrawal effectively ends the ongoing litigation challenging the Vaccination and Testing ETS. The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to file a motion in the Sixth Circuit United States Court of Appeals to dismiss all consolidated lawsuits challenging the standard.

OSHA's public statement noted that "although OSHA is withdrawing the vaccination and testing ETS as an enforceable emergency temporary standard, 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.”

According to our colleagues at LeadingAge, our national affiliate, non-emergency OSHA standards typically take much longer to enact than CMS proposed rules (typically years). Still, we will continue to monitor any new regulatory developments on this issue.