Supreme Court to Hear Challenges to Vaccine/Testing ETS
The United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on January 7, 2022, regarding the ongoing legal challenges to OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) mandating companies with 100 or more employees require vaccinations against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing. It deferred ruling on whether to block implementation of the new rules until after hearing the challenges.
In December, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit lifted the stay of enforcement on the OSHA ETS. Following the Sixth Circuit’s decision, OSHA announced that it will begin enforcing the ETS on January 10, 2022. However, it will not issue citations for noncompliance with the ETS testing requirements prior to February 9, 2022, so long as the employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance.
Leading up to last week’s announcement, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh requested that OSHA respond to the Petitioners’ appeals, which are also seeking a stay of the Sixth Circuit decision pending the U.S. Supreme Court decision. OSHA has until December 30, 2021 to submit its response. At this point, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to issue any stay in the enforcement of the OSHA ETS pending the January 7, 2022 expedited oral argument. It is likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will address the stay issue during such oral argument.
Experts advise the best course of action is to be prepared to comply with the ETS as early as January 10.
Our industry allies are challenging the constitutionality of the mandate and working with other business organizations to urge OSHA to provide greater flexibility and modifications to the ETS, should court challenges be unsuccessful.
Source: Associated Equipment Distributors
CDC Updates and Shortens Recommended Isolation and Quarantine Period for General Population
CDC has updated isolation and quarantine recommendations for the public. These recommendations do not apply to healthcare personnel and do not supersede state, local, tribal, of territorial laws, rules, and regulations.
People with COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow that by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others.
California Updates COVID-19 Quarantine Isolation Policy
CDPH posted an updated Guidance document COVID Isolation and Quarantine requirements. This guidance is different than the recently readopted CalOSHA ETS for the workplace but was fixed by an executive order.
Recommendations for people who are exposed to COVID-19 are also updated. If you are unvaccinated or more than 6 months out from your second mRNA dose (or more than 2 months after the J&J vaccine) and you are not yet boosted, CDC recommends a quarantine for 5 days followed by strict mask use for an additional 5 days. If a 5-day quarantine is not feasible, it is imperative that an exposed person wear a well-fitting mask at all times when around others for 10 days after exposure.
People who have received their booster shot do not need to quarantine following an exposure but should wear a mask for 10 days after the exposure. For all those exposed, best practice would also include a test for COVID-19 at day 5 after exposure. If symptoms occur, individuals should immediately quarantine until a negative test confirms symptoms are not attributable to COVID-19.
