In a specially scheduled oral argument today, the U.S. Supreme
Court heard two issues involving the OSHA Emergency Temporary
Standard (“ETS”). One issue pertained to the
merits of the appeal and whether the OSHA ETS was valid and
enforceable. The second issue confronted by the justices was
the issuance of temporary stay of the OSHA ETS pending its
decision.
Interestingly, during this oral argument, the U.S. Solicitor
General, Elizabeth Prelogar (“Prelogar”), informed the
Court that there were no significant pending compliance deadlines
that would create an undue harm to employers. Prelogar
explained that Fed-OSHA has not halted or stayed the implementation
of the OSHA ETS. She stated that employers should already
have drafted and implemented their COVID-19 policies and other ETS
compliance documentation and procedures. In response to a
question from Justice Sotomayor, Prelogar explained that there were
only two upcoming compliance deadlines facing employers.
