United States Supreme Court Imposes Stay on OSHA Vaccine Mandate: What Does it Mean for Restaurants?

Following an expedited hearing on January 7, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted a petition for stay of enforcement of OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing; Emergency Temporary Standard that would have been imposed on employers of 100 or more employees.  This stay is, in effect, injunctive relief pending disposition of the numerous businesses, trade groups, and non-profit organizations’ consolidated petitions for review in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Court, disagreeing with the Sixth Circuit’s prior opinion, determined that the applicants’ petitions challenging the constitutionality of the mandate were likely to prevail.  The core of the opinion focused on two questions: (1) what is OSHA’s limit of authority, if any; and (2) whether the mandate appropriately tailored to the authority conferred upon OSHA.  The Court answered the first question by emphasizing that OSHA is permitted to set “workplace safety standards, not broad public health…