SALT LAKE CITY — A federal appeals court temporarily halted the Biden administration's occupational safety rule that required businesses with over 100 employees to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine or regular testing.
In a ruling on Saturday, a three judge panel at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay sought by Texas, Utah, Mississippi and South Carolina, as well as businesses who claimed they would be negatively impacted.
"Because the petitions give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate, the Mandate is hereby STAYED pending further action by this court," the judges wrote, ordering lawyers for the states and the federal government to submit further briefing by next month...
WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal appeals court issued a stay Saturday freezing the Biden administration's efforts to require workers at U.S. companies with at least 100 employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly, citing "grave statutory and constitutional" issues with the rule.
The ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit comes after numerous Republican-led states filed legal challenges against the new rule, which is set to take effect on Jan 4.
The White House declined to comment on the ruling, and referred questions to the Labor Department, where spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The stay comes two days after the Biden administration unveiled the rule, which was immediately met with vows of legal action from Republican governors and others, who argued it overstepped the administration's legal authority. read more
The action on the private-sector vaccinations was taken under the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) emergency authority over workplace safety, officials said. The rule applies to 84.2 million workers at 1.9 million private-sector employers, according to OSHA.
Saturday's court order came in response to a joint petition from several businesses, advocacy groups, and the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah. The rule is also facing separate legal challenges before other courts. read more
The two-page order directs the Biden administration to respond to the request for a permanent injunction against the rule by 5pm Monday.
I'm a left-leaning independent voter, and I'm absolutely thrilled by this news! "As goes the US, so goes the world" still has a bit of juice, so I'm really looking forward to how much this decision (and hopefully the next - permanent injunction) rattles the cages of the powers-that-be here in Australia, particularly in Dictoria (the dictatorship of Victorian premier Daniel Andrews) and in The Hermit Kingdom of Palaszczuk (the dictatorship of Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk).
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful news- I hope it drags out for months in the court system. Ultimately, though, I bet the Supreme Court will allow the mandate- it seems that all 3 branches of the federal government are corrupt now.
ReplyDeleteI’m not very optimistic about this. I believe SCOTUS over turn the stay 6-3, Roberts, Kavanaugh, and Barrett voting with the majority.
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