The hold against the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for private enterprises was extended on Friday by a federal appeals court in Louisiana, which found that the states and businesses opposing the regulation “show a strong possibility of success on the merits.”
“A stay is in the best interests of the public.” The mere prospect of the Mandate has led to enormous economic turmoil in recent months, from economic uncertainty to labor unrest,” noted Fifth Circuit Judge Kurt Engelhardt.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ judgment directs the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to “take no actions to adopt or enforce” the mandate, which would compel workers at organizations with more than 100 employees to be vaccinated or tested for Covid-19 on a weekly basis.
The ruling of the panel is expected to be appealed to the whole court by the Biden administration.
Former President Donald Trump appointed Engelhardt to the bench. Judge Kyle Duncan and Judge Edith Jones, the other two members of the court, were selected by Trump and previous President Ronald Reagan, respectively.
Businesses, religious organizations, and states have filed more than a dozen challenges in various appellate courts, claiming that the vaccine-or-test mandate exceeds OSHA’s power and violates the First Amendment, the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, and statutes safeguarding religious freedom. “The Mandate imposes a financial burden on them by deputizing their participation in OSHA’s regulatory scheme, exposes them to severe financial risk if they refuse or fail to comply, and threatens to decimate their workforces (and business prospects) by forcing unwilling employees to take their shots, take their tests, or hit the road,” Engelhardt agreed that the rules’ opponents had standing to sue in the Fifth Circuit.