As expected, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on whether OSHA may proceed with its Vaccine Order for large employers.  The Court will hold a special hearing on January 7, 2022.  Briefings are due by December 30, 2021.  The Court will also consider whether a separate vaccine order related to healthcare workers is enforceable. 

At present, OSHA has delayed its enforcement efforts until January 10, 2022, except for the rule’s testing requirement, which it plans to begin enforcing on February 9, 2022.  We will stay tuned to see whether these deadlines change in light of this recent development. 

Although the future of the OSHA vaccine rule is unknown at this time, covered employers should consider whether to continue to take steps to come into compliance, especially given the relatively short compliance window provided by OSHA if the rule is ultimately upheld.