As we close in on December, what is the status of the federal vaccine mandate you ask? (Didn’t you?) At this point, variable! Here is the breakdown:
Employers with 100 or more employees: Originally, the deadline for test or vaccinate was January 4, 2022, with December 6, 2021, as a date for many other requirements. Then came the lawsuits, which were consolidated under one circuit court. The Sixth Circuit has released a schedule for briefs ending Friday, December 10, 2021. What does that mean? Unless your state or local mandates require vaccination at your workplace, you do not have to comply until a decision is handed down affirming the mandate. We are bumping up against the deadlines: the exact date of the decision is unknown, but the very earliest is December 13, 2021. You can take a wait and see approach or prepare just in case–we have a fixed fee solution for compliance.
CMS Vaccination Rule: Big news here: an injunction has been granted in Missouri that prevents enforcement of this mandate in 10 states*–finding Congress did not grant CMS the authority to mandate the vaccine. Yet a court in Florida did not block the same CMS mandate. Both cases will be appealed to the Eighth Circuit. As you may know, the deadlines are very close in healthcare for this mandate. If you are in one of the 10 states, you could wait and see. Or you can prepare and not have to worry. We have a fixed fee solution for our healthcare clients too.
Federal Contractors: Stay the course! This mandate is unchanged and not likely to be impacted by challenges. If you have not started your compliance obligations, contact us at mike@foleylawpractice.com or 508-548-4888. We have a fixed fee Federal Contractor Vaccination package to make it easy.
Final Thought: No one knows how the courts will rule, in spite of the amount of guessing. If you want to be prepared, we have solutions to make that painless. If you want to roll the dice, we are always ready to help.
*Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming