OSHA ETS and the Dog That Caught the Car—What Next?

Since President Biden’s announcement on September 9, 2021, that OSHA would soon be issuing an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) mandating employee vaccinations, many questions have been asked regarding the requirements, enforceability, logistics of implementation, and practical effects of the ETS on employers during a time of labor shortages and opposition to mandatory vaccinations. Working diligently to prepare the ETS for approval by the White House and publication in the Federal Register on November 5, 2021, OSHA may feel like the proverbial dog that achieved its goal of catching the car, as it (and everyone) must now answer the question, "What next?" While issuance of the ETS answers the first question regarding its basic requirements, employers, lawyers, judges and government agencies must now turn their attention to answering the many remaining questions. 

Although it is widely anticipated that litigation seeking to prevent enforcement of the ETS is imminent, such threatened litigation is not instructive to employers required to implement the new requirements in the face of uncertainty regarding its enforcement by the courts. Such efforts are complicated by the efforts of various states to prevent vaccine mandates, the dissemination of information from various sources instructing employees on how to avoid the mandates through requests for reasonable accommodations and labor shortages, which will make it difficult for employers to quickly replace employees who may resign in the face of such mandates or otherwise be unable to report to work while awaiting test results or remaining at home because of a positive test result.

Join us for this webinar as we discuss the ETS, its requirements and key issues for employers as they chart their course to compliance.

Monday, November 15, 2021
1:00 P.M. – 1:30 P.M. EST

Click here to view the recording

Dykema is an accredited provider of HRCI credit, we anticipate HRCI accreditation for this presentation. It is our understanding that SHRM accepts HRCI accredited programming. HR Certification Institute's® (www.HRCI.org) official seal confirms that Dykema meets the criteria for pre-approved recertification credit(s) for any of HRCI’s eight credentials, including SPHR® and PHR®. Please contact Kelsey Rustigian at krustigian@dykema.com with questions.