Courts are weighing in on COVID-19 vaccine mandates issued for federal contractors and large businesses, which could give reprieves for business scrambling to comply – if only temporarily.

On Nov. 30, a federal judge temporarily blocked the mandate for federal contractors to get vaccinated in the states of Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. In this brief video, Trent Cotney, CEO of Cotney Attorneys & Consultants, gives a concise overview of the COVID mandate rulings that took place this week in federal courts and how they affect the deadlines set forth in those mandates.

“You’re already starting to see a significant amount of legal challenges on every single aspect of anything that has to do with vaccines or these COVID-19-type regulations,” Cotney said.

Cotney also provides a status update of the emergency temporary standard (ETS) that would enforce a mandate that businesses with 100 or more employees must either vaccinate their workers or regularly test them for COVID.

“At a minimum, there’s a reprieve, but as I’ve discussed in our past discussions, there’s significant legal issues with how this thing is drafted,” Cotney said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently not implementing or enforcing the ETS, stating it has suspended activates “pending future developments in the litigation.” OSHA is still, however, seeking comments on the ETS, having recently extended the deadline for the comment period to Jan. 19, 2022.

For more information, visit WC’s coronavirus coverage page.