Since the COVID-19 vaccination was made available to the public in late 2020, the topic of vaccination has been widely discussed across the country including in the daily news, by governments and agencies, in the courts, in communities, and in the workplace. From the very beginning, federal, state, and local governments/agencies have engaged in campaigns to encourage vaccination; passed laws mandating vaccination in the workplace, public places, government buildings, and elsewhere; and incentivized vaccination. Indeed, President Biden’s Administration made COVID-19 vaccination a predominant part of its national strategy to combat the pandemic.
The Biden administration has officially withdrawn a rule that would have required workers at big companies to get vaccinated or face regular COVID testing requirements.
Workplace regulators recently extended California’s COVID-19 pandemic regulations, including some revisions that could negatively impact the labor shortage. Some business groups have criticized these changes, while organizations supporting workers in the state have supported them.
On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated decision blocking OSHA's emergency temporary standard (ETS), which required employers with 100 or more employees to implement a COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing policy, in addition to other requirements.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has extended the comment period for the COVID-19 vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard to Jan. 19, 2022.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration suspended all activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for big companies while the mandate is tied up in court.
Challenges to President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private employers will be consolidated in the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, a panel dominated by judges appointed by Republicans, reports the Associated Press.
Eighteen states filed three separate lawsuits Friday, October 29 to stop President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors, arguing that the requirement violates federal law, reported the Associated Press.
By December 8, 2021, all federal government contractors must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. According to the guidance, contractors are required to obtain documentation on every employee’s vaccination status. Meanwhile, private sector employers with 100 or more employees will more than likely be required to uphold the same standard.
