Greater Louisville Inc.: Supreme Court Hears Vaccine Mandate Case, Mandate Goes Into Effect Next Week

Louisville KY

07 January, 2022

4:13 PM

Description

Press release from Greater Louisville, Inc.: 2022-01-06 Federal vaccine mandate goes into effect next week After months of back-and-forth rulings in lower federal courts, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on Friday regarding President Biden's federal vaccine mandate for private employers with over 100 workers. The mandate was implemented through the Occupational Safety & Health Administration's (OSHA) emergency temporary standard (ETS) and requires all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing. Following a ruling by a federal judge in December, the ETS is slated to go into effect on Monday, January 10, but OSHA has stated that they will not fine employers until February 9. While the Supreme Court's expedited review of the ETS is significant, they will not be deciding on the validity of the rule at this time. Instead, the Supreme Court will review the case to determine whether the temporary injunction previously issued to block the rule is proper. In addition to the private employer mandate, the Supreme Court will also review the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) mandate for healthcare workers, which is currently blocked in Kentucky – again, not on the validity of the rule, but on whether the previous injunction was proper. After so much uncertainty regarding employer responsibility onthe ETS, here are the steps impacted businesses must take to comply with the mandate: There is no defined timetable for the Supreme Court to issue its decisions, but given the nature of the challenges, expedited rulings are expected in a matter of weeks. Stay tuned to Policy Distilled for more information as these cases continue their way through the courts. This press release was produced by Greater Louisville, Inc.. The views expressed here are the author's own.