Supreme Court Ruling on ETS, BACP Enforcement

Supreme Court Reinstates Stay in OSHA ETS Case

The emergency temporary standard (ETS) issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the U.S. Department of Labor, which would have covered restaurants, has been stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court pending the final outcome of the cases in the courts below. The decision can be found here.

Illinois OSHA has clarified in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling that it will stay enforcement of its testing and vaccination mandates for public sector employees. 

Cook County and the city of Chicago, however, have not clarified whether they too will stay enforcement of their orders despite the fact that the testing and vaccination mandates of each order require covered businesses to comply with the OSHA ETS testing and vaccination standards generally. 

As a result, businesses should assume the city and county orders remain in effect until further clarification.

The IRA will share additional information and guidance in the coming days.

Enforcement Notice, Testing Considerations FAQ for Vaccination Requirements

Please be advised that the city of Chicago's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) is actively investigating and enforcing the city's vaccine requirement at restaurants through in person visits and phone calls to ensure compliance. Click here to read more from CBS2 Chicago.

Click here to visit the Chicago Vaccine Requirement webpage, with FAQs, required signage, template policies, and more. Click here for more information on Cook County's vaccine requirements, which align with the city of Chicago.

The IRA has also been in communication with the city of Chicago and Cook County about ongoing challenges restaurants and their employees are having with testing availability and turnaround times for results. Both the city and county have issued an updated FAQ to acknowledge these issues and offer considerations to employers and their employees:

• My unvaccinated employees are having difficulty getting timely test results. What can I do?
  • The expectation is that employees will consider the time needed for test scheduling and turn-around in order to be able to provide weekly test results to their employers, and make their test appointments accordingly. Employers could include information encouraging this planning in their written employee vaccination protocol. If a reporting delay occurs, employees can continue to work until they are received, but this should not be an excuse for those employees not making a good-faith effort to comply. In evaluating a business's compliance with the Order, the employer's written protocol and demonstrated efforts to comply will be taken into account.

Signage, Webpage for Chicago Foodware Upon Request Ordinance

On Tuesday, January 18, the city of Chicago’s ordinance that regulates the offering of single-use foodware at takeout or delivery from restaurants will go into effect. The ordinance requires restaurants to provide single-use foodware - such as napkins, disposable utensils, or condiment packets - for delivery or takeout only upon request from the customer or at a self-service station.

Restaurants must post the above signage at their establishment, and they are encouraged to post the signage at any location where delivery or take-out orders may be placed in order make customers aware of the requirements.

Additionally, restaurants are required to provide options for customers to affirmatively
request single-use foodware when ordering for delivery or take-out. This requirement applies to all ordering or point of sale platforms, including internet enabled applications, digital platforms, phone orders, and in-person ordering. 

Click here to visit BACP's Single Use Foodware Ordinance webpage and review FAQs. 

Grab Tickets Now for the IRA Annual Meeting

Tickets are now available to join the IRA's 2022 Annual Meeting & Luncheon on Thursday, February 3 at the Union League Club Chicago. The luncheon will feature an installation of the 2022 Officers and Board of Directors and keynote address by the Honorable Lori Lightfoot, Mayor of Chicago.

Please note that proof of vaccination is required to attend the event. Contact Clare Boyce with any questions.

Sign Up Now for Chicago Restaurant Week 2022