Accessibility Tools

Skip to main content

The Supreme Court Stays the OSHA ETS; CMS Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers Goes Forward

Written on .

Yesterday, we received decisions from the US Supreme Court on the status of the OSHA COVID-19 ETS and the CMS vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. As I predicted, the OSHA ETS has been stayed, and the CMS mandate has been allowed to go forward.

Why were the two vaccine mandates treated differently? Short answer: the Court found that the fact that CMS has authority to regulate the health and safety of patients gave it authority to issue the vaccine mandate, while the Court also found that OSHA’s authority to issue an ETS to address a “grave danger” in the workplace did not extend to COVID-19. This is a gross oversimplification, but you get the idea.

Many employers with more than 100 employees are breathing a sigh of relief that they are no longer required to engage in the logistically difficult task of regular COVID-19 testing of workers. Employers still need to follow OSHA and CDC guidance regarding COVID-19 precautions such as social distancing and masking. And with the highly contagious nature of the Omicron variant, employers need to take steps to minimize the spread of infection in the workplace for reasons of worker health and to minimize worker absenteeism.

As for employers of healthcare workers, you need to review recent CMS Guidance that provides detailed information on how surveyors will review facilities for compliance with the vaccine mandate.

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

sunset, signs
The Trump Administration, immigrant rights groups, and the courts are battling over who controls the legal status and employment authorizat…
digital sign face
President Trump on January 20 and 21, 2025, issued Executive Orders 14151 and 14173, seeking to eliminate federal Diversity, Equity and Inc…
large skyscraper building
In January of 2025, during the last month of the Biden Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commissio…
typewriter, cancel
During the Biden Administration, in 2021, President Biden issued an executive order establishing a $15 minimum wage for federal contractors…
old clocks
If you employ a worker with TPS status, you should pay attention to the work authorization expiration date. 
A federal district judge in San Francisco on Monday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from terminating deportation protections f…