Travel Guides – OSHA Suspends Enforcement of Biden’s Vaccine Mandate
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has suspended implementation and enforcement of the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for private employers after a federal court blocked the measure.
The OSHA website page dedicated to the COVID Vaccine Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) reads: “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.”
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit fully blocked Biden’s executive order requiring companies with over 100 workers to mandate vaccination for their employees after temporarily staying it on November 12. The court ordered that OSHA “take no steps to implement or enforce” the vaccine mandate “until further court order.”
Since the Biden administration announced the directive, many legal scholars have questioned its constitutionality, given that the legislation it is relying on for authority explicitly states that an ETS can only be issued when employees are exposed to a “grave danger” that necessitates immediate action.
