President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14042 on Sept. 9, 2021, which required government contractors and subcontractors to get "fully vaccinated" against COVID-19. On the same day, he also signed Executive Order 14043 that mandated vaccines for all federal employees, subject to such exceptions as were required by law and that included medical and religious exemptions. Biden's subsequent vaccine or testing “mandate” was then promised in a September 2021 press release. His mandate was later issued as an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on Vaccines and Testing by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on November 5th. This medical mandate was due to go into effect on January 4th, 2022.
The highly controversial ETS or mandate required businesses employing more than 100 people to either force their employees to be vaccinated against or tested weekly for the SARS-CoV-2 virus and wear face coverings or expect stiff fines. It is estimated that 80 million workers would have been required to be fully vaccinated in order to keep their jobs if Biden's mandate was not contested. So far, 27 states with Republican governors or attorneys general opposed the mandate, according to a CNBC report. The U.S. Supreme Court has recently stepped in to stay the OSHA mandate, although mandates involving employees of health care providers were permitted to remain in effect. Due to that decision, OSHA formally withdrew its November 5th ETS order on January 25th, making this website statement.
Mandate's Legal Challenge was Initially Successful but Later Overruled
On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a motion to stay that ETS (86 Fed. Reg. 61402). The court ordered that OSHA "take no steps to implement or enforce" the ETS "until further court order."
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit now has jurisdiction over ETS challenges, and the U.S. Department of Labor has filed a motion to lift the stay. OSHA then suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation. The subsequent 2-1 decision by a panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati overruled that earlier federal court decision that had paused the mandate nationwide. Republican state attorneys general and conservative groups then said they would appeal that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Additional Legal Challenges Result in an Injunction Covering All US States
A preliminary injunction was ordered against Biden's federal contractor jab requirement in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee on Nov. 30 by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove in the Eastern District of Kentucky. On Dec. 7, U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker expanded the injunction to include all of the United States. This happened after seven states, namely Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia filed a similar case against the mandate. Another injunction was granted on Dec. 20th against Biden's COVID jab mandate for federal contractors in ten states, including Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming by U.S. Magistrate Judge David D. Noce. Biden's vaccine mandate for federal employees, Executive Order 14043, was then blocked by a federal judge in Texas on Jan. 21st in response to a request for injunctive relief filed on Dec. 21st by Feds for Medical Freedom, Local 918 and various individual plaintiffs. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Vincent Brown stated in his decision granting the injunction that Biden "cannot require civilian federal employees to submit to the vaccine as a condition of employment."
Florida wins Legal Challenge to Biden's OSHA Mandate
In response to the vaccine mandate, the State of Florida filed a lawsuit against Biden, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the General Services Administration. The State of Florida then won a preliminary injunction on December 22nd challenging Joe Biden's COVID vaccine mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors. The Florida ruling demonstrates the possibility of the mandates causing "irreparable economic injury," and that denying the injunction "would substantially injure Florida entities faced with violating either a federal contract or state law." U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday became the fourth judge to rule against Biden's order that government contractors be required to get the COVID jab. According to his December 22 ruling, Judge Merryday pointed out that Biden's "Executive Order 14042 exceeds the President's authority" and "intrudes into a matter traditionally committed to the state." The issue between state and federal law reportedly came as a result of the passing of the "Keep Florida Free" joint agenda by the Florida legislature in November 2021, which prohibits the imposition of vaccine mandates on public and private sector workers in the state.
SCOTUS Stays General OSHA Mandate, Upholds Health Care Mandate
After four lower court judges ruled against Biden's requirement that government contractors get a COVID shot, they were then joined in opposing vaccine mandates by a majority of those sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS).
Thankfully, the Supreme Court stepped in to direct the federal government to reconsider its enforcement role and its relationship with state governments and protect the medical freedom of most U.S. workers. The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in four such mandate cases in early January and released its decision on January 13th, 2022. Two of the cases concerned the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), while the other two were related to the health care mandate, namely those involving the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Court ruled by a 6-3 majority that U.S. President Joe Biden and the federal government clearly overstepped their bounds in demanding a COVID shot for federal contractors and for the roughly 80 million Americans who work for larger employers of over 100 people. That ruling effectively shot down the OSHA mandate for good. The vaccine mandate that the Supreme Court by a 5-4 majority allowed to be enforced across the nation covers almost all U.S. health care workers. It applies to providers of health care services that get federal Medicare or Medicaid funding. This mandate potentially affects 76,000 health care facilities, in addition to home health care providers. The health care worker mandate allows for exemptions on medical and religious grounds.
U.S. Senate Passes Resolution to Overturn Biden’s OSHA Mandate
On Wednesday, December 8th, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution to overturn the Biden administration’s unconstitutional COVID-19 vaccine mandate. While a step in the right direction, the resolution will likely face an uphill battle in the Democratic-controlled House since Republicans would need a decent number of Democrats to help them force a vote on the measure.
If the House of Representatives eventually passes this resolution, it would then go to President Biden for his signature. Unfortunately, the White House has already signaled that Biden will veto the measure since it did not achieve a veto-proof Senate majority.
Oppose Mandates in Lake County by Signing The Medical Freedom Petition
Despite the fact that the Supreme Court has now quashed the increasingly unpopular OSHA ETS or mandate, health care providers and many other businesses still plan on requiring vaccines or testing of their employees. This is occurring despite what the Supreme Court majority and many other observers consider to be the unconstitutional impingement on the medical choices of individuals. If you are concerned about medical tyranny rearing its ugly head in Lake County in response to COVID-19 and wish to do something meaningful to oppose it, then please take a moment to sign and share this important Medical Freedom petition on Social Media now to take a clear stand for medical freedom in Lake County.
Komentarji