Biden’s COVID vaccination mandate blocked by Fifth Circuit Court pending judicial review

By Eric Revell

What’s the story?

• A three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Saturday issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks President Joe Biden’s vaccination mandate for private employers with at least 100 employees.
• The Fifth Circuit panel granted a motion by a group of employers seeking to block the mandate while it hears a legal challenge against the Biden administration rule. The panel explained they granted the motion because “the petitions give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate.”
• The Occupational Health and Safety Agency (OSHA) issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) that took effect on Friday prior to the legal challenge. Under the ETS, private employers with at least 100 workers would have to require employees to either show proof of vaccination or show a negative test once a week, and also give employees time off to get vaccinated. Violators would be fined up to $14,000 for each violation.
• The rarely used ETS process allows OSHA to implement a rule immediately for up to six months without undertaking the standard rulemaking process with opportunities for public comment.
• The Congressional Research Service (CRS) notes that there have been 10 ETS put forward by OSHA since 1971. Only three ETS weren’t challenged legally (ETS related to asbestos in 1971, vinyl chloride in 1974, and DBCP in 1977), while another ETS related to COVID-19 put forward in June by the Biden administration is currently undergoing judicial review.