After almost two years of dealing with COVID-19 and its variants, is it time to stop fighting the virus and just learn to live with it? Some experts say yes. And those experts – six in total – have very good credentials as all of them were part of an advisory board of health experts who helped […]
OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccination emergency temporary standard (ETS) for employers with 100 or more employees was blocked Jan. 13 by the U.S. Supreme Court, but a vaccine mandate on healthcare workers at certain facilities was allowed to move forward. The Occupational Safety and Health Act did not grant OSHA the authority to institute a mandate forcing […]
On Jan. 3, Minnesota became the first state-plan state to officially adopt federal OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). The state plans to exercise enforcement discretion as far as compliance dates are concerned, similar to what federal OSHA has implemented since the stay on the ETS was lifted Dec. 17 by the U.S. […]
OSHA announced Dec. 27 that it’s withdrawing the non-recordkeeping portions of its COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard (Healthcare ETS) and considering a broader infectious disease standard instead. However, the COVID-19 log and reporting provisions will remain in effect as they were adopted under a separate provision of the OSH Act. Going forward, the agency plans […]
The stay on OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccination emergency temporary standard (ETS) was lifted Dec. 17 by the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the agency is promising enforcement discretion in respect to the standard’s compliance dates. OSHA can now enforce the ETS, but states it will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements […]
The federal contractor vaccine mandate was blocked nationwide Dec. 7 by a federal judge for the U.S. Southern District of Georgia. Compliance with the mandate presents an “extreme economic burden” to employers, according to the judge. The mandate works as a regulation of public health, which is not something Congress clearly authorized the President to […]
The stay on OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccination emergency temporary standard (ETS) will likely cause some of the emergency standard’s compliance deadlines to be pushed back to at least Dec. 10, 2021. OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccination ETS was stayed in early November by the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit after more than 30 petitions for review were […]
The comment period for the COVID-19 vaccination emergency temporary standard (ETS) has been extended to Jan. 19, 2022. OSHA extended the comment period by 45 days, allowing additional time for stakeholders to review and gather information before making comments. Comments should be identified as Docket No. OSHA-2021-0007 and can be filed electronically at regulations.gov, which is the […]
OSHA filed suit Nov. 17 against PACCAR Inc., doing business as Peterbilt Motor Co., to force the company to reinstate an employee who was allegedly fired for raising COVID-19 concerns at a Texas manufacturing plant. The agency is asking the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to order the company to reinstate the […]
