Religious plaintiffs, others, win residency of Biden’s private employer vaccine mandate
On the side of religious organizations and other private employers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Saturday blocked the implementation of the Biden Administration’s OSHA mandate, which requires vaccinations or regular tests at companies with 100 or more workers.
The interim order, to be revised Monday, applies to the states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
“Because the petitions give rise to a belief that there are serious legal and constitutional issues with the mandate, the mandate is hereby suspended pending further action by this Court,” the order of Fifth Circuit Judges Edith Jones, Stuart Kyle Duncan and Kurt D. Engelhardt stated.
Judge Jones was a Reagan nominee for the fifth round, while Judges Engelhardt and Duncan were nominated in January 2018 by President Donald Trump.
The temporary injunction comes in response to proposals submitted Friday to permanently block the employer’s vaccine mandate.
Last Thursday, the Danish Working Environment Authority issued a temporary emergency standard requiring all private companies with 100 or more employees to ensure that each employee is vaccinated against COVID-19 before 4 December, even though implementation was pushed back to 4 January. Workers who have not been vaccinated should wear a mask and have weekly tests for the virus.
The move immediately sparked fire from private employers within Fifth Circuit’s jurisdiction, including religious organizations represented by the law firm First Liberty Institute: Daystar Television Network and the American Family Association.
A third client, Answers in Genesis, sought relief in the sixth cycle, where Christian clients from another legal group of public interest, Alliance Defending Freedom, also sought relief. These clients included Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Asbury Theological Seminary, both in Kentucky, and the Christian Employers Association, an industry group whose president said dozens of its members met the 100-employee threshold.
“We do not live in a dictatorship where a president can issue an edict and take over all the big corporations in our nation and the lives of over 84 million Americans,” said Kelly Shackelford, First Liberty’s president, CEO and chief adviser. in a statement. “The mandate is massively unconstitutional and also violates statutory law. We are pleased that the fifth circuit has prevented it from being implemented. “
Both sides in the Fifth Circuit case were ordered to file a response to the temporary stay no later than 6 p.m. 17.00 Monday.
On Friday, Seema Nanda, Labor Department Solicitor, said in a statement: “This ETS prejudges any state or local requirement that prohibits or restricts an employer’s authority to require vaccination, face covering or testing. [It] is good inside OSHA’s authority under the law and complies with OSHA’s requirements for the protection of the health and safety of workers. We are fully prepared to defend this standard in court. “
The Washington Times has contacted the Labor Department for its response to the Fifth Circuit’s Saturday decision.
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