Occupational Safety & Health Admin., 727 F.2d 415, 417 (5th Cir. The judge goes through the history of OSHAĬongress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act or the Act) and established OSHA “ to assure safe and healthful working conditions for the nation’s work force and to preserve the nation’s human resources.” Asbestos Info. § 2112(a)(4), we DISSOLVE the stay issued by the Fifth Circuit for the following reasons. Pursuant to our authority under 28 U.S.C. § 2112(a)(3), petitions challenging the ETS-filed in Circuits across the nation-were consolidated into this court. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed the ETS pending judicial review, and it renewed that decision in an opinion issued on November 12. The ETS requires that employees be vaccinated or wear a protective face covering and take weekly tests but allows employers to choose the policy implementing those requirements that is best suited to their workplace. On November 5, 2021, OSHA issued an EmergencyTemporary Standard (ETS or the standard) to protect the health of employees by mitigating spread of this historically unprecedented virus in the workplace.
In need of guidance on how to protect their employees from COVID-19 transmission while reopening business, employers turned to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA or the Agency), the federal agency tasked with assuring a safe and healthful workplace. Recognizing that the “old normal” is not going to return, employers and employees have sought new models for a workplace that will protect the safety and health of employees who earn their living there. Despite access to vaccines and better testing, however, the virus rages on, mutating into different variants, and posing new risks.
Throughout, American employees have been trying to survive financially and hoping to find a way to return to their jobs. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across America, leading to the loss of over 800,000 lives, shutting down workplaces and jobs across the country, and threatening our economy. This means the mandate that makes no legal sense is back on. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled to dissolve the Fifth Circuit’s stay on the OSHA vaccine or test mandate.