The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) suspended its implementation and enforcement of President Joe Biden’s vaccine rule for private businesses with 100+ employees due to a court order.
Biden’s vaccine rule, announced in September, requires businesses with 100+ employees to mandate COVID-19 vaccines or have weekly testing for employees. OSHA subsequently announced its rules surrounding the requirement in November and officials had originally planned for a Jan. 4 compliance deadline.
On Nov. 6, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a temporary halt of Biden’s rule, and the appeals court granted a motion to stay on Nov. 12. (RELATED: ‘A Decision We Applaud’ — Big Business Endorses Biden’s Vaccine Mandate)
“The court ordered that OSHA ‘take no steps to implement or enforce’ the ETS ‘until further court order,'” OSHA noted on its website. “While OSHA remains confident in its authority to protect workers in emergencies, OSHA has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation.”
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 27: U.S. President Joe Biden rolls up his sleeve before receiving a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in the South Court Auditorium in the White House September 27, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The White House urged private businesses to “move forward” with Biden’s vaccine rules despite the court order. White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Nov. 8 that “people should not wait.”
“We say: Do not wait to take actions that will keep your workplace safe. It is important and critical to do, and waiting to get more people vaccinated will lead to more outbreaks and sickness,” Jean-Pierre said. “So this is about keeping people in a workplace safe and so – and what we’re seeing is more businesses and school closures and most lost jobs … keep us stuck in a pandemic that we’re trying to end. Like, we do not want that to happen. We’re trying to get past this pandemic, and we know the way to do that is to get people vaccinated.”
“So people should not wait. We should continue to do – move forward and make sure that they’re getting their workplace vaccinated,” she continued.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it plans to “vigorously defend” the OSHA guidelines, adding that it “looks forward to obtaining a definitive resolution following consolidation of all of the pending cases for further review.”