Details of President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for businesses with at least 100 employees were announced Thursday, and numerous business leaders and interest groups across the country are already gearing up for a legal battle.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued rules which will require unvaccinated workers to begin wearing masks Dec. 5 and to provide negative COVID-19 tests if they are not vaccinated by the deadline of Jan. 4, 2022. 84 million employees across the country will be affected by the rule, administration officials said.
NEWS: Today the Labor Dept will formally release the details of the OSHA rule requiring employers with 100+ employees to ensure their workers are either vaccinated by January 4 or test weekly for COVID-19, per the White House
— Sara Cook (@saraecook) November 4, 2021
Job Creators Network (JCN), America’s leading advocacy organization for small businesses, filed suit in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to block the implementation of the testing and vaccination mandate. The plaintiffs include the Rabine Group of Companies, Lawrence Transportation Company, Guy Chemical Company and Independent Bakers Association.
“The Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate is clearly illegal and will have a devastating impact on our small business community and our entire economy. JCN is suing the Administration on the grounds that OSHA does not have the authority to impose such a mandate,” JCN president and CEO Alfredo Ortiz said. “Even if OSHA did have the power, there is neither the grave danger nor necessity to issue such a sweeping regulation.”
JCN is also running billboard ads in Times Square to raise awareness about the suit. Many other businesses and interest groups, from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty to the Daily Wire, have also announced lawsuits against the mandate. (RELATED: Vaccinated Can Be As Contagious As Unvaccinated At Peak Of COVID-19 Infection: Yearlong Study)
As things currently stand, nearly 193 million Americans have been fully vaccinated. That includes almost 80% of Americans aged 12 and over who have received at least one dose of vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this week made an official recommendation in favor of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged 5-11.