Associated Builders and Contractors applauded the U.S. Supreme Court for reinstating the stay on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, which applies to employers with 100 or more employees.

On behalf of the construction industry, ABC filed one of the emergency appeals to the Supreme Court leading to this successful outcome.

“ABC is pleased that the Supreme Court blocked OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing ETS,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs. “ABC is proud to have played an important role in preventing OSHA from causing irreparable harm to the construction industry.

"This is a big win in removing compliance hurdles for the construction industry, which is facing multiple economic challenges, including a workforce shortage of 430,000, rising materials prices and supply chain issues. ABC continues to support vaccinations and encourages members to use its COVID-19 vaccination toolkit to keep workers safe on construction jobsites.”

On Nov. 9, 2021, ABC and its Alabama chapter filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit against the OSHA ETS. ABC filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to stay the ETS on Dec. 20.

In a separate ruling issued by the Supreme Court Jan. 13, 2022, the court lifted injunctions that had been issued against the CMS vaccination mandate applicable to health care institutions and their suppliers and contractors.