Supreme Court To Hear Oral Arguments January 7th On Vaccine And Mask Mandates – OSHA enforcement And Penalties Start The 10th

Washington, D.C. – The Biden administration petitioned the Supreme Court on Thursday to retain its vaccine-or-testing mandate for large US employers, despite opposition from many business groups and Republican-led states.

The arguments come as the country faces another wave of the extraordinary pandemic that is sickening and killing thousands of workers nationwide, and any further delay in implementing the will result in avoidable disease, hospitalizations, and fatalities due to workplace exposure.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court upheld the administration’s Covid immunization program for large private businesses, reversing a previous court decision that blocked one of President Joe Biden’s core vaccination initiatives.

Biden announced the policy in September, declaring that enterprises with 100 or more employees must ensure that their workforces are completely vaccinated or make non-vaccinated workers to wear masks and demonstrate negative Covid test results at least once a week.
Employers who fail to comply may face fines.

Several Republican-led states and industry groups have filed a lawsuit opposing the rule, claiming that it exposes businesses to financial risk for noncompliance and jeopardizes their workforces.

A panel for the 6th Circuit in Ohio found the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s workplace order for enterprises with at least 100 employees legitimate in a 2-1 decision.

Prelogar stated in the brief that OSHA has the jurisdiction to enforce the rule under existing law, despite assertions from industry groups and several states that the agency lacks authority.

OSHA has stated that it will not issue citations related to the Covid vaccine obligation until after January 10, to provide businesses time to comply with the regulations.
Additionally, the federal government stated that no citations connected to its testing requirements would be issued prior to Feb. 9.
Previously, the mandate was scheduled to take effect on Jan. 4.

The Supreme Court is slated to hear oral arguments on Jan. 7 about challenges to large-company vaccination and mask mandates.