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Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two opinions concerning the OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) vax-or-test mandate for private employers with 100 or more employees and the CMS vaccine mandate for the healthcare industry.

SCOTUS has stayed the OSHA ETS vaccine mandate. This means that private employers will not currently need to comply with the OSHA ETS vaccine mandate. Employers should be aware that SCOTUS has not issued a final ruling on the OSHA ETS; it has just stayed the OSHA ETS pending a decision on the merits. Up next, the Sixth Circuit will review the merits of the OSHA ETS. Following the Sixth Circuit’s review and decision, it is likely that the OSHA ETS will go back to SCOTUS for a final opinion.

On the other hand, SCOTUS has allowed the CMS vaccine mandate to go forward. This means that the CMS vaccine mandate is back in effect. CMS covered providers should be prepared to implement Phase I of the CMS mandate by January 27, 2022, and Phase II of the CMS mandate by February 28, 2022.

McAfee & Taft will continue to analyze these important decisions and their impact on your businesses. Be on the lookout for another alert in the coming days discussing SCOTUS’s opinions in further detail.