The National Labor Relations Board announced that unionized employers will need to bargain over parts of the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandate. Dinsmore labor partner Mark Carter spoke with Law360 last week about the urgency of those negotiations with deadlines looming. Read what he had to say below.

Labor attorneys said the content of the guidance was not necessarily a surprise and is generally in line with how they have approached discussions so far, but it brings more urgency with regulatory deadlines fast approaching.

"We are now in a situation where employers and unions are essentially being required to reach agreements regarding these terms within a matter of weeks and to be in compliance with those terms within a matter of months," said Mark Carter, a management-side partner at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. "Collective bargaining negotiations are not always that swift."

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Further complicating the situation is the pending litigation from unions, employers and states over the OSHA standard, including a stay the Fifth Circuit imposed on Nov. 6.
Carter wondered whether there will be any leeway given to employers still negotiating terms with their employees' union based on the NLRB's guidance when the OSHA standard's deadlines arrive.

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