Accessibility Tools

Skip to main content

What Is the Status of the Federal Vaccine Mandates?

Written on .

Legal challenges to the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates are working their way quickly through the federal court system. With new rulings being issued on days, nights and weekends, it is hard to keep with which mandates are stayed and which are not. So here is a quick overview of where we are right now:

The OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS): In Effect (Not Stayed).

The OSHA ETS applies to employers with 100 or more employees and provides that covered employers must enact a policy that requires employee vaccination or weekly COVID testing. On Friday night, December 17, 2021, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati lifted the stay of OSHA’s ETS. A number of parties in the Sixth Circuit proceedings have already filed a joint emergency motion with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting the Court to stay the ETS.

OSHA states that “it will not issue citations for noncompliance with any requirements of the [mandate] before January 10 and will not issue citations for noncompliance with the [mandate’s] testing requirements before February 9, so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard.” Thus, it is important for covered employers to immediately start making those good faith efforts at compliance with the ETS.

The Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate: Stayed Nationwide.

The federal government contractor vaccine mandate will become part of federal government contracts and subcontracts, either as part of a new contract or an amendment or renewal of an existing contract. On December 7, 2021, a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Georgia entered a nationwide stay of the federal contractor vaccine mandate. This past Friday (12/17), a three judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government’s motion to dissolve the stay. The 11th Circuit has also set an accelerated briefing schedule on the merits, with the last brief due on January 24, 2022. The same federal judge in Georgia has scheduled a hearing for 12/21 on the government’s motion for him to lift the stay. Whether the government files an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court remains to be seen.

The CMS Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers: Stayed in 24 states.

This vaccine mandate has been challenged in two separate lawsuits by a total of 24 states. Right now, enforcement of the CMS vaccine mandate is stayed in those 24 states. The government has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking for the stays to be lifted, and the briefing schedule has a deadline of December 30, 2021, so we don’t expect a decision from the Supreme Court before that date. In the meantime, according to its website, CMS “has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of [the mandate] pending future developments in the litigation.”

As you can see, this is a rapidly developing area, so it is important to know which (if any) vaccine mandates apply to your workplace, and whether immediate compliance is necessary.

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

trump 2024 poster on wood
Donald Trump not only won the Presidency, but also almost came close to winning a majority of the votes; the Republicans flipped four Sen...
a longhorn cow grazing outdoors in grass field
On November 15, 2024, in Commerce v. USDOL, a federal district court in Texas invalidated a Biden Administration regulation that had atte...
ripped american flag
Many politicians are running on pro-union platforms and often say unions are good for our economy.  But look at what is going on right no...
a group of people crossing the street
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) includes provisions known as the white-collar exemption, which carves out certain "executive, adminis...
aircraft carrier at sea
Many employers believe they know the ins and outs of handling maternity leave and military leave, but some issues are now rising that bea...
inclusive sign
Supposedly the oldest magazine in continual publication, The Economist, published in London, has devoted its September 21-27, 2024, editi...