The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ December 17, 2021 ruling reinstated Federal OSHA’s COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS), including the controversial vaccination and testing mandate. This follows a Louisiana Court’s stay last month that temporarily paused the vaccine requirement nationwide. Federal OSHA’s mandate dictates employees at organizations with at least 100 workers must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or produce a weekly negative test.

However, Saturday (12/18/21), South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, 26 other states, and a long list of organizations filed an appeal with the US Supreme Court to halt the Federal OSHA vaccine mandate. The US Supreme Court has yet to decide if they will take up the vaccine mandate appeal. 

Barring another court ordered stay, Cal/OSHA and other OSHA State Plans have 15 days to notify OSHA (federal) if they plan to adopt the Federal ETS or something else they believe will be at least as effective, and another 15 days (30 days total) to conduct the adoption.

PRISM is watching this rulemaking process and the associated legal landscape closely. We have been in regular communication with Cal/OSHA as well as legal and subject matter experts so that we are prepared to address member concerns when a final rulemaking decision is made. In the interim, if you have any questions regarding the current California ETS or the Cal/OSHA rulemaking process please do not hesitate to reach out to PRISM Risk Control.