Large CU Employers, You Are Subject To A New Mandate

By Melia D. Heimbuck, Esq., CUANM’s Vice President of Advocacy & Risk Management

Beginning January 4, 2022, all businesses with 100 or more employees must ensure that their workers are either fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or subject to weekly COVID-19 testing.

This requirement was issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on November 4, 2021. Employers subject to the ETS should be on the lookout for guidance from federal agencies and consult with counsel to determine appropriate steps regarding their vaccination policies

Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved an earlier ruling that had put President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for larger private employers on hold. Because numerous petitions challenging the rule had been filed in multiple federal courts of appeals, the U.S. Department of Justice requested consolidation of all of the challenges. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit was selected in a random draw to hear the consolidated challenges. The Sixth Circuit’s decision will be applied across the United States.

For more information, visit OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS at: https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/ets2#litigation