[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 220 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64366-64367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25167]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Parts 1910, 1915, 1917, 1918, 1926, and 1928

[Docket No. OSHA-2021-007]


COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing; Emergency Temporary Standard; 
Ratification of Department's Actions

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Department of 
Labor (DOL).

ACTION: Ratification.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor is publishing notification of the 
Secretary of Labor's ratification of a rule.

DATES: The ratification was signed on November 12, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    General information and press inquiries: Contact Frank Meilinger, 
OSHA Office of Communications, U.S. Department of Labor; telephone 
(202) 693-1999; email: meilinger.francis2@dol.gov.
    For technical inquiries: Contact Andrew Levinson, OSHA Directorate 
of Standards and Guidance, U.S. Department of Labor; telephone (202) 
693-1950; email: ETS@dol.gov.



SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 12, 2021, the Secretary of Labor 
ratified an interim final rule codifying an emergency temporary 
standard to protect unvaccinated employees of large employers from the 
risk of contracting COVID-19. See Interim Final Rule, COVID-19 
Vaccination and Testing; Emergency Temporary Standard, 86 FR 61402 
(November 5, 2021) (the ``Interim Final Rule''). The Department is now 
publishing the ratification in the Federal Register out of an abundance 
of caution. Neither the ratification nor the publication is a statement 
that the ratified action would be invalid absent the ratification, 
whether published or otherwise.

Appendix

Ratification

    By virtue of the authority vested in the Secretary of Labor by 
law, including 33 U.S.C. 941 and 29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657, I am 
affirming and ratifying a prior action by Acting Assistant Secretary 
James S. Frederick. On November 5, 2021, the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration published in the Federal Register an interim 
final rule codifying an emergency temporary standard to protect 
unvaccinated employees of large employers from the risk of 
contracting COVID-19. See Interim Final Rule, COVID-19 Vaccination 
and Testing; Emergency Temporary Standard, 86 FR 61402 (November 5, 
2021) (the ``Interim Final Rule'').
    The Interim Final Rule was signed by James S. Frederick, 
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational 
Safety and Health, who was serving as Acting Assistant Secretary of 
Labor for Occupational Safety and Health before the current 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health 
assumed office. Questions have been raised in litigation, however, 
concerning Mr. Frederick's authority to sign the interim final rule.
    Out of an abundance of caution, to avoid any doubt as to its 
validity, I have independently evaluated the Interim Final Rule and 
the basis for adopting it. I now affirm and ratify the Interim Final 
Rule, without deference to Mr. Frederick's prior decision. In my 
considered and independent judgment, the Interim Final Rule was and 
remains necessary to protect unvaccinated employees against the 
grave danger of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19.
    I have full and complete knowledge of the Interim Final Rule 
action taken by former Acting Assistant Secretary Frederick. I have 
also determined that the assessment of grave danger in the Interim 
Final Rule and the Rule's assessment of how best to respond to that 
danger remain valid based on my assessment of the situation at the 
time of this ratification. Pursuant to my authority as the Secretary 
of Labor, and based on my independent review of the action and the 
reasons for taking it, I hereby affirm and ratify the Interim Final 
Rule, as of October 26, 2021.

Martin J. Walsh,
Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2021-25167 Filed 11-15-21; 4:15 pm]
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