A federal appeals court panel on Friday authorized the implementation of President Joe Biden’s mandate for employees of major corporations to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
By two votes in favor and one against, a panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the suspension of an order ordered by a federal judge from another court of the United States in its entirety.
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA, for its acronym) regulations are set to take effect on January 4. After the ruling was issued, the date of its implementation is not known.
States with Republican governments joined conservative groups, business associations, and some individual businesses in rejecting this requirement once OSHA published the provisions in November.
They claimed that this body was not authorized to dictate the emergency law.
The case was consolidated before the Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit, which is dominated by Republican-appointed justices.
Of the two that governed for OSHA’s state, one was appointed by a Democratic president and the other by a Republican. The dissenting judge was appointed by former President Donald Trump.
Judge Julia Smith Gibbons wrote in the majority opinion: “Given the OSH’s demonstrated and exercised authority to regulate virus-related situations, OSH necessarily has the authority to regulate infectious diseases that are not confined to the workplace.”
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said she would ask the US Supreme Court to stop the order.
He added, “The decision of the Sixth District is very frustrating for the residents of Arkan, because it will force them to get the vaccine, or they will lose their jobs.”
South Carolina attorney Alan Wilson, who is also president of the Republican Bar Association, said on Twitter Friday that he was confident the mandate could be stopped.
The vaccine requirement applies to companies with 100 or more employees and will cover about 84 million workers.
Employees who have not been fully vaccinated will have to wear masks and undergo diagnostic tests for coronavirus every week. There will be exceptions for those who work outdoors or only at home.
