We hear it day after day; what’s a large employer (100+ employees) to do? There was all this hype around the federal government’s vaccinate or test [weekly] mandate, and then a federal appeals court stayed the mandate.
What’s it all mean? Well, right now, the mandate isn’t a mandate. There are several court cases seeking to declare it unconstitutional. Those cases have been assigned to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
What did OSHA do? For employers, OSHA formally “suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement” of the vax-or-test rule. For the litigation, OSHA filed an emergency request that the court dissolve the stay and allow it to move forward implementing the vax-or-test rule.
What happens next? The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled briefing [written arguments] on the emergency request. All briefing must be to the court by December 10th. After that, we think the court will have the parties argue the motion, but the court hasn’t scheduled oral argument yet.
What about us? What’s an employer to do? Right now, we recommend sit-and-wait. It’s unlikely anything will occur by the original December 4th deadline. We’ll be on it every step of the way, and you’ll have the latest right here. Remember to check back frequently.
If you have questions about this or any other HR-related issue, feel free to reach out. We’re here to help.
