Remember those federal vaccine mandates? Well, one of them is still with us, and it has now started going into effect in Texas, the last state to be subject to the mandate.
You may recall that when in January the U.S. Supreme Court nixed the Administration’s vaccine mandate for large employers, it allowed the vaccine mandate for health care employers, that is, Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) started setting deadlines for the 25 or so states that were part of that lawsuit.
Texas had brought its own lawsuit, which was not before the Supreme Court, but Texas’ lawsuit was dismissed by a court on January 19th, allowing the CMS to set deadlines for Texas. Which it did.
So, here are the deadlines for Texas: By February 22nd, 100% of the workers of employers subject to the order had to receive a their first does; by March 21st, 100% must complete the series of doses; and by April 20th, employers failing to meet the 100% standard may be subject to enforcement action.
The 100% standard does not apply to workers who have requested or been granted a qualifying exemption or to employees who perform 100% of their duties remotely. There is no testing alternative to the vaccine mandate.
In case you were wondering, many, many types of health care providers are subject to the vaccine mandate; by one count, fifteen different types.