Yesterday afternoon, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down OSHA’s vaccine mandate that was applicable to employers with more than 100 employees (referred to as the "emergency temporary standard” or “ETS”).   Although the Court returned the legal dispute over the rule to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals for further consideration, as a practical matter, the ETS is dead for now.  Minnesota had adopted the federal ETS rule earlier this month, but announced yesterday that it is suspending enforcement on the state level as well.
 
As a result of these developments, employers are not required to comply with the requirements of the ETS.  Employers of all sizes, however, continue to have the right to design their own vaccine mandate, testing, or other programs to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, provided that they respect rules requiring accommodation of disabilities and sincerely held religious beliefs.  
 
Please contact anyone on our Employment and Labor Law team to discuss your COVID policies and approach.  In the meantime, we will keep you posted on any new developments as they occur.