A new COVID-19 vaccination/testing mandate policy for Mount Vernon’s schools adopted Jan. 10 by Mount Vernon’s school board in case the Supreme Court would require it is now moot.
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday, Jan. 13, that such a policy is unconstitutional for large employers, but left the policy in place for federal health care workers.
Mount Vernon’s school board adopted the COVID-19 vaccination/testing mandate policy in order to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) newly-instituted emergency temporary standard (ETS) on COVID-19.
The district intended to use the policy if and when it was legally compelled to.
OSHA’s ETS mandated that employers with 100 or more employees require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or, for employees who were not fully vaccinated, to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing and to wear a mask in their workplace. Mount Vernon school district meets these criteria.
The mandate further stated that if an employer didn’t have a policy in place, it would be fined $13,600 per person per day that it wasn’t in compliance with the mandate.
However, OSHA was not allowed to implement the policy until the Supreme Court ruled on whether or not it would support a mandate. The court hadn’t ruled as of the Jan. 10 school board meeting.
Mount Vernon’s recently-passed policy is now moot, wrote school board president Nannette Gunn Jan 13: “The policy was only active if that had passed. It’s moot. We designed it that way.”
The policy states: “This policy is effective immediately upon Board approval and remains in effect during such time as OSHA is permitted by law and pursuant to applicable court rulings to enforce the ETS. If at any point OSHA is prohibited from enforcing the ETS, the requirements under this policy will not be in effect.”
Superintendent Greg Batenhorst had recommended at the school board meeting that the district follow the law and whatever the Supreme Court says.
The school board decided to not put itself in the position of incurring a large fine over the issue if it did not have a policy in place if and when the Supreme Court ruled that the vaccination/testing policy was constitutional.
The board voted 4-3 at its meeting to put a COVID policy in place so it would already exist if and when it was ruled to be legally required and the school district was legally compelled to follow it.
The school board vote did not address whether or not a mandate should be put in place.
Voting that the school district had to put the vaccination/testing policy in place at that time so it would be there if it turned out to be needed were school board president Nannette Gunn and board members Rick Elliott, Jeremy Kunz and Bill Thomsen.
Voting not to have such a policy in place yet were board members Denise Brannaman, Lori Merlak and Lance Schoff.