Following the U.S. Supreme Court blocking the Biden administration vaccine-or-test requirements for large private companies, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) withdrew the emergency temporary standard (ETS).
The ETS, which went into place on Nov. 5 of last year, was issued to reportedly protect unvaccinated employees of large employers, 100 or more, from the risk of contracting COVID-19. It required that workers either get vaccinated or submit to a weekly COVID-19 test. It also required unvaccinated employees to wear a mask indoors at work.
However, as of Wednesday the withdrawal is now in effect. Despite OSHA withdrawing the vaccination and testing as an enforceable emergency temporary standard, it 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,” the agency’s website states. “OSHA strongly encourages vaccination of workers against the continuing dangers posed by COVID-19 in the workplace.”
Related: The Answer to Questions on Mandating COVID-19 Vaccine? ‘It Depends’
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Related: CDC Now Recommends Form-Fitting Respirators, Surgical Masks Over Cloth Masks
Editor’s Note: Read more about vaccination requirements and how it applies to school transportation operations from legal expert Matthew Daus in the upcoming February issue of School Transportation News.
