Friday, January 14, 2022
Supreme Court rules on OSHA vaccine and testing rule
On Jan. 13, the Supreme Court blocked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on COVID-19 vaccine and testing. This rule required workers at businesses with more than 100 employees, including the Postal Service, to get vaccinated or comply with weekly testing. The rule, a push from the administration to get more people vaccinated, would have affected more than 80 million workers.
The case reached the Supreme Court after 26 business groups and 27 Republican-led states sued to challenge the OSHA policy.
On January 4, the Postal Service requested temporary variance from OSHA that would have delayed implementation of the OSHA ETS for 120 days. The Supreme Court’s ruling appears to have rendered that request moot.
While the broader OSHA rule that would have affected millions of workers was blocked, the Supreme Court upheld a separate rule that requires healthcare workers at facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funds to get vaccinated.