PRINTING United Alliance Experts Weigh In on Supreme Court Vaccine Decision

On January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court upheld a “stay” on the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) that the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) issued in November. That stay was put in place by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals immediately after the ETS issued, which meant that the ETS was not enforceable while the lawsuits were being litigated.

The ETS mandated that private employers with 100 or more employees require their workers to be fully vaccinated, or institute a mandatory weekly testing protocol for those who are not fully vaccinated. By reinstituting the stay, these employers do not have to put the mandatory vaccine/testing policy into place until the lawsuits are resolved.

Last month, a different Court of Appeals, the Sixth Circuit, “lifted” the stay, which meant that the ETS was in effect and enforceable. The ruling by Supreme Court sided with the Fifth Circuit and put the stay back in place, meaning that the ETS will not be enforceable until the lawsuits are resolved, which may take quite some time. The ETS has been sent back to the lower court to work through the lawsuits.

To learn more about how this mandate affects the printing industry and what to expect in the future, join PRINTING United Alliance to gain access to the foremost experts in the space as well as to answer individual questions as it relates to your business operation.

And, as COVID mandate changes are rapidly evolving, members can reach out to our expert Alliance staff for further questions on this, or other important matters: Marci Kinter, VP, Government & Regulatory Affairs: mkinter@printing.org; Gary Jones, Director, Environmental, Health and Safety Affairs: gjones@printing.org; and Adriane Harrison, VP, Human Relations Consulting: aharrison@printing.org.

PRINTING United Alliance seeks to keep the industry updated on workplace requirements related to COVID-19 workplace safety requirements. Follow the latest alerts on COVID-19 from the PRINTING United Alliance Government Affairs team online at: https://www.printing.org/library/business-excellence/human-resources.