Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for big businesses halted by US Federal Court

The recently issued mandate by the Biden administration for the COVID-19 vaccination of workers in big enterprises with 100 or more employees was temporarily suspended by a federal appeals court on November 6, Saturday. The fifth circuit court of appeals in the United States issued an emergency suspension of the National Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (Osha) demand which requires employees to be inoculated by January 4, as well as wearing masks and weekly testing is necessary, as per the Guardian.  

The decision to suspend the vaccine mandate just came within two days after the US government released the regulation. On Friday, the five republican-governed attorney generals of Texas, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Utah, along with a number of private corporations, filed lawsuits in the United States appeals court opposing the requirement. 

'There are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate'

As per CNBC, following this, the federal court ordered on Saturday that the vaccination and testing mandates will be delayed awaiting review “because the petitions give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate.” Stuart Kyle Duncan, Kurt Damian Englehardt, and Edith Hollan Jones were the three judges who have imposed the ruling. The President Joe Biden administration has till November 8, evening to reply on the current suspension. 

Meanwhile, Jeff Landry, Attorney General of Louisiana stated that the suspension would prevent Joe Biden from going on with his unconstitutional overreach. Quoting a statement of Landry, the Guardian reported, “The president will not impose medical procedures on the American people without the checks and balances afforded by the constitution.” 

Furthermore, the Biden administration's new mandate is widely regarded as the most ambitious attempt to vaccinate the working class. Officials from the Biden office believe that if the idea is successful, it will go a long way toward stopping the pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 750,000 Americans. According to the Associated Press, the laws, which were initially introduced by US President Joe Biden in September, would affect 84 million workers in medium and big businesses. 

OSHA recommendations for the vaccine mandate

In addition, according to OSHA, the mandate states that the companies who will not follow the requirements might face fines of more than $14,000 per violation. Employees must either get two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one dosage of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by January 4th, the instructions suggest. OSHA's recommendations were created under emergency authority in order to protect workers from a possible health hazard. According to OSHA, the immunisation mandate is anticipated to save more than 6,500 lives and prevent more than 250,000 hospitalizations over the next six months.  

(Image: AP)