The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has on Friday overturned a ruling by the Fifth Circuit that had blocked President Joe Biden from forcing companies to fire workers who aren’t vaccinated or not tested for Covid weekly.
The Biden mandate affects about 80 million workers in America at companies with more than 100 workers. The ruling lifts an injunction placed against the implementation of the mandate in November.
The Sixth Court says that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration proved there is a “pervasive danger that COVID-19 poses to workers—unvaccinated workers in particular—in their workplaces.”
Alaska had joined in the lawsuit, along with several other states. Friday’s ruling will most certainly be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Read: Alaska joins other states suing Biden over private company mandates
Judge Jane B. Stranch wrote that the “old normal” is not going to return and that Congress gives OSHA the authority to regulate workplaces in regard to viruses:
“The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across America, leading to the loss of over 800,000 lives, shutting down workplaces and jobs across the country, and threatening our economy. Throughout, American employees have been trying to survive financially and hoping to find a way to return to their jobs. Despite access to vaccines and better testing, however, the virus rages on, mutating into different variants, and posing new risks. Recognizing that the “old normal” is not going to return, employers and employees have sought new models for a workplace that will protect the safety and health of employees who earn their living there. In need of guidance on how to protect their employees from COVID-19 transmission while reopening business, employers turned to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA or the Agency), the federal agency tasked with assuring a safe and healthful workplace. On November 5, 2021, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS or the standard) to protect the health of employees by mitigating spread of this historically unprecedented virus in the workplace. The ETS requires that employees be vaccinated or wear a protective face covering and take weekly tests but allows employers to choose the policy implementing those requirements that is best suited to their workplace. The next day, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed the ETS pending judicial review, and it renewed that decision in an opinion issued on November 12. Under 28 U.S.C. § 2112(a)(3), petitions challenging the ETS—filed in Circuits across the nation—were consolidated into this court. Pursuant to our authority under 28 U.S.C. § 2112(a)(4), we DISSOLVE the stay issued by the Fifth Circuit for the following reasons.
Read the court’s reasons at this link:
