Coronavirus
Supreme Court asks Biden administration to respond to challenges to private employer vaccine mandate
December 21, 2021 6:40pm
Updated: December 22, 2021 9:19am
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Monday directed the administration of President Joe Biden to respond to challenges to its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private companies.
Kavanaugh set the deadline to file responses at 4 p.m. on Dec. 30, just days before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandate would take effect and force every business with 100 or more employees to be vaccinated or show weekly proof of a negative COVID test.
“This case is finally where it belongs: the Supreme Court. OSHA has threatened to start punishing employers like our clients starting on January 10, and we’re grateful the court has ordered a briefing schedule that will allow for resolution of our petition before that deadline,” Daniel Suhr, managing attorney at the Liberty Justice Center, told The Epoch Times in an email.
“We’re very pleased with Justice Kavanaugh’s quick response and are confident that the court will act quickly to ensure legal predictability before the deadline,” said John Bursch, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals entered a preliminary injunction on Nov. 6 blocking the OSHA mandate, but the stay was dissolved by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals last Friday.
This prompted a flurry of appeals to the Supreme Court by faith groups, companies and state attorneys general seeking a new injunction to prevent the loss of valuable workers amidst the pandemic. Alliance Defending Freedom lawyers pointed out that some public schools are not subject to the vaccine mandate and “could attract teachers away from religious private schools.”
The challengers argue the Biden administration is violating the authority granted to states in the Constitution and that OSHA does not have the authority to enact and enforce such a sweeping measure.
OSHA said it was “gratified” by the Sixth Circuit’s ruling and stands ready to begin imposing the mandate on Jan. 10, 2022. The official deadline is Jan. 4.
