The U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration said Saturday it would not issue citations for large employers before Jan. 10, so that companies have time to adjust to and implement the requirements.
The federal agency said there would be no citations of companies regarding its testing requirements before February 9.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District in Cincinnati made a decision on Friday that the mandate for large employers could go forward, reversing a previous court decision made by 27 Republican-led states, conservative groups, business associations and some individual companies who challenged the mandate. OSHA said that it would not issue citations before the listed dates, as long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard. The mandate was due to take effect Jan. 4. The Biden administration has a vaccine requirement that applies to companies with 100 or more employees and covers about 84 million U.S. workers. The employees who are not fully vaccinated have to wear face masks and be subject to weekly COVID- 19 tests. There are exceptions for those who work outdoors or only at home.
The mandate is estimated to save 6,500 lives and prevent 250,000 hospitalizations over the course of six months.