The employer vaccine mandate can move ahead for now. OSHA announced Saturday the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dissolved a stay of the emergency temporary standard issued in November by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Several staffing firms had signed on as plaintiffs to stop the emergency temporary standard, which requires companies with 100 workers or more to have their employees be vaccinated or undergo weekly Covid-19 testing.

But even as the Sixth Circuit cleared the way, OSHA reported it won’t issue citations for noncompliance with the emergency temporary standard until Jan. 10.

OSHA also said Saturday that it would not enforce the testing portion of the emergency temporary standard’s testing requirements until Feb. 9, “so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard.”

Law firm Littler Mendelson noted emergency appeal applications have already been filed with the US Supreme Court, and the 11th Circuit upheld a nationwide injunction against the separate vaccine mandate for federal contractors pending further review.

OSHA’s announcement regarding the emergency temporary standard has already raised concerns in the business community.

The National Retail Federation said it’s disappointed the stay was lifted and is considering legal options. However, it will also continue preparing its members for the mandate.

“NRF has long maintained that OSHA, in promulgating its Vaccine Mandate Emergency Temporary Standard, exceeded the authority granted to it by Congress in 1970 and crafted a rule that is infeasible for employers to implement during the critical holiday season,” according to the NRF’s statement.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, also said the court’s decision will weigh on businesses.

“We are in the height of a workforce shortage and supply chain crisis, and I have no doubt these issues are only going to be compounded by this poor decision,” Reynolds said. “The state has immediately asked the Supreme Court to stop this mandate.”