The Vaccine Mandate That Was Not: Courts Block Biden Administration’s Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccine Plans
When a vaccine for the coronavirus was developed, President Joe Biden expressed an intent to require employees across the country to become vaccinated in a bid to increase poor vaccination rates against the pandemic.
However, legal action across several states continues to challenge this vaccination mandate and block them from implementation. At least seven states, some companies, business associations and religious organizations have filed lawsuits against enforcing the different mandatory policies. This article looks at each of Biden’s three-part vaccine mandate’s current status and the why’s behind the legal actions.
Louisiana Federal Court Blocks CMS COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate
On November 5, 2021 and in response to a direct order from the President, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) announced a mandatory COVID-19 policy requiring all employees, volunteers, staff, students, and contractors under Medicare and Medicaid certified healthcare services to be fully vaccinated against the Coronavirus virus before January 4, 2022. The mandate also had a deadline of December 6, 2021 for religious and disability accommodation requests and the first dose of the vaccine.
However, 14 states across the US, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Idaho, Oklahoma, Indiana, Utah, Georgia, and South Carolina, filed a legal complaint in a Louisiana federal court against the mandate.
As a result, the court blocked the policy for all medical service providers across the US. According to the court ruling, and among other reasons stated by the court, the federal government did not follow the standard process for issuing such a regulation. Also, the CMS did not have constitutional powers to enact such a mandate; instead, the mandatory vaccine policy should have been a decision for the US Congress. The court also stated that the vaccine mandate violated several provisions in US law, such as the Tenth Amendment, the Spending Clause, and the Anti-commandeering Doctrine.
The CMS vaccine mandate is stayed until further notice.
Fifth Circuit and Sixth Circuit Federal Courts of Appeal Block OSHA COVID-19 Ets
Again, by order of the President, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring businesses with 100 or more employees to request compulsory vaccination or weekly testing for their staff beginning on January 4, 2021.
This regulation would have affected over 84 million employees across America. It would also have significantly impacted the finances and operations of businesses across the country given the requirement to pay for certain things, including time taken off work to get vaccinated and recovery from any ensuing side-effects, among other costs.
However, a petition by the state of Texas and several other states across the US alongside companies and activist groups challenged the decision. As a result, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal sitting in Texas, blocked the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy and stayed the regulation on the grounds of “grave” statutory and constitutional issues. Given that several Circuit Courts around the country had received the same or similar petition, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals was randomly selected to hear the case on its merits. At that stage, the government asked the Court to overturn the stay. Currently, this petition to reconsider the stay has not been fully presented to the Court nor has a decision been rendered.
As such, the OSHA Covid-19 Vaccine-Testing ETS is also stayed until further notice.
Georgia Federal Judge Rules Against Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors.
The vaccine mandate for federal contractors would have been applicable to businesses nationwide that receive certain federal funding or generally do business with the federal government. It would also have been applicable to the subcontractors of those contractors many times removed.
However, here in the state of Georgia, Honorable Stan Baker, a US district judge, ruled against the COVID-19 mandatory vaccination regulation requiring employees of federal contractors to receive the total doses of the Coronavirus vaccine by January 18, 2021.
After a full briefing by the petitioners and intervenor, and a hearing on December 3, 2021 in Statesboro, GA., the Judge concluded that the federal government did not receive appropriate authorization from the US Congress to mandate compulsory vaccination.
So too, this vaccine mandate is also stayed until further notice.
Get Prepared
Given the stay of these vaccine mandates, many employers and employees want to know what to do other than to watch and wait for further court action. Right now, it is prudent for employers to assess the need for a mandatory vaccine policy of its own volition and the impact of the federally mandated vaccine on its workplace, should these policies (or some part of each) become permanent fixtures of our pandemic existence. Meanwhile, employees who believe they require, and qualify for, an exemption to any vaccine mandate should make those applications for exemption as soon as the employer is prepared to receive them.
With these scenarios in mind, you’ll need qualified and professional legal counsel to guide you on these policies. At the Law Office of Sheri Oluyemi, LLC, we have vast expertise in US employment law, such as COVID-19 mandatory vaccination regulations and accommodation requests. Contact our firm today, and let’s be your legal counsel.
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