After the news yesterday that a federal court judge struck down the CDC’s mask mandate for airplanes, mass transportation, and transit hubs, many employers immediately wondered what it might mean for their business.

Though masks have been lifted in most workplace settings, we still live in an uncertain time where some businesses have continued to require employees and visitors to wear masks, and the CDC recommends mask-wearing in some locations based on the spread of COVID-19 in local regions.

Some localities have even reinstated indoor masking requirements. Does this latest development signal that it’s time for your business to drop your workplace mask mandate? Or should you continue to impose your own mask requirement for business travel even if masks may no longer be required on airplanes?

This Insight will explore a few of the considerations you may want to take into account when determining your next steps.

First Things First: What Happened and Where are We with Transportation Masking Requirements?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first issued a public health order that required members of the general public to wear masks while on interstate transportation (most significantly including airplanes) and at transit hubs (most significantly including airports) in February 2021.

Meanwhile, U.S. airlines have required passengers to mask onboard since May 2020. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) enforced the CDC’s order through its own directives, and you have undoubtedly seen videos on social media and the news of disagreeable airline passengers being dragged off planes by TSA agents for refusing to mask up during travel.

While it appeared last month that the CDC might end the transportation mask mandate by mid-April given the rapid decline in Omicron cases in the first quarter of 2022, a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases due to the BA.2 subvariant led the CDC to extend its mandate for an additional 15 days. In other words, air travelers would be required to wear masks through at least May 3. Until yesterday’s news changed the calculus completely.

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