A U.S. appeals court upheld its decision to put on hold Joe Biden’S order for companies with 100 workers or more to require Covid-19 vaccines.
QUICK FACTS:
- A three-member panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans affirmed its ruling, rejecting a challenge by the Biden administration, Reuters reports.
- “The mandate is staggeringly overbroad,” the opinion said.
- “The mandate is a one-size-fits-all sledgehammer that makes hardly any attempt to account for differences in workplaces (and workers),” Circuit Court Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote for the panel.
- “The public interest is also served by maintaining our constitutional structure and maintaining the liberty of individuals to make intensely personal decisions according to their own convictions—even, or perhaps particularly, when those decisions frustrate government officials,” Engelhardt went on to say.
BACKGROUND:
- The initial mandate was issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which orders that businesses with at least 100 employees require staff to get vaccinated or face weekly tests and face mask requirements.
- The move to affirm the hold comes after the court last week concluded, “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.”
