"The court recognizes that the ETS presents an incredible and unprecedented burden on millions of businesses across the country."
WASHINGTON – The National Retail Federation today issued the following statement regarding the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to extend a stay for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 employer-based vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard.
“We are pleased with the decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals preventing the Biden administration from doing anything to enforce the OSHA ETS unless and until an appeal is made or another court says otherwise. The court agrees that this is neither a workplace hazard nor an emergency.
“In addition to convening and preparing our members over the past several months for this impending mandate, NRF also took necessary legal action to protect our members from the practical challenges of implementing this ETS during the holiday season.
“The companies seeking a stay in this case contend that they would have been irreparably harmed in the absence of a stay, whether by financial impacts, the loss of suspended employees during this highly competitive labor market, compliance and monitoring costs associated with the mandate, the diversion of resources, or by OSHA’s plan to impose stiff financial penalties on companies that refuse to punish or test unwilling employees.
“The court recognizes that the ETS presents an incredible and unprecedented burden on millions of businesses across the country. They acknowledge the tragic loss of life and the seriousness of COVID-19, but that transmission is not inherently a workplace issue.
“We will continue our efforts to ensure that businesses, their employees, the consumers they serve and the communities where they operate are not unduly burdened and disadvantaged by well-intentioned yet misguided policy and regulations that sound good in concept but have no basis of fact as to the reality of how we move beyond the pandemic.”
About NRF
The National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, passionately advocates for the people, brands, policies and ideas that help retail thrive. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., NRF empowers the industry that powers the economy. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, contributing $3.9 trillion to annual GDP and supporting one in four U.S. jobs — 52 million working Americans. For over a century, NRF has been a voice for every retailer and every retail job, educating, inspiring and communicating the powerful impact retail has on local communities and global economies. NRF.com