Accessibility Tools

Skip to main content

Update on the COVID ETS: It Has Been Stayed. But for How Long?

Written on .

As noted in my blog post last week, it was expected that there would be many challenges to the COVID Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). Those challenges were filed very quickly, and on Saturday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed enforcement of the ETS based on “grave statutory and constitutional issues.”

Multiple lawsuits have been filed in multiple federal Circuits challenging the ETS. The federal rules for multi-circuit litigation provide for the cases to be consolidated and heard by one court that is initially chosen by a lottery. The Court selected to hear the cases can decide whether to keep the stay in place or lift it. [Update–the lottery is scheduled to be held on November 16].

Where does this leave us? With a great deal of uncertainty, at least until we find out which Court will handle this issue. In the meantime, companies subject to the ETS should continue their preparations to comply with its provisions.

And of course, I’ll keep you posted on further developments.

Kathleen J. Jennings
Former Principal

Kathleen J. Jennings is a former principal in the Atlanta office of Wimberly, Lawson, Steckel, Schneider, & Stine, P.C. She defends employers in employment matters, such as sexual harassment, discrimination, Wage and Hour, OSHA, restrictive covenants, and other employment litigation and provides training and counseling to employers in employment matters.

Related Content

Get Email Updates

Receive newsletters and alerts directly in your email inbox. Sign up below.

Recent Content

flaming matchstick dwindling down
January 20, 2025, will certainly go down in history as a major policy pivot-point. Among the many Executive Orders (EO) President Trump i...
Immigration Issues webinar promo
Although the new administration will bring some welcome changes in certain employment areas, a few issues are developing that are of grea...
Senate building, outside
In a major blow to organized labor, the Senate voted on November 10, 2024, against the confirmation of NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran to anot...
warehouse shelves
President-Elect Trump announced in November that he plans to nominate Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon as Secretary of Labor...
I voted sticker
The shift in positions since the election is amazing.  Before the election, there was bi-partisan support for a bill to increase the numb...
american border wall
In his first term, President Trump changed policies at the U.S.-Mexico border, reduced the number of refugees admitted to the U.S., and a...