Appeals court allows Biden vaccine mandate for private employers to take effect
CINCINNATI, Ohio — A federal appeals court panel has ruled that President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for larger private employers can take effect.
Friday’s 2-1 ruling from a panel of judges on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a lower-court ruling that had paused the requirement. It was originally planned to take effect Jan. 4, but it’s not clear now when it might.
Republican-led states are challenging the rule, which would apply to companies with at least 100 workers. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson says the fight against the mandate will continue.
The 6th Circuit decision allowing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to implement the administration's rules for large employers is a rare victory for Biden in what has been an uphill battle in conservative-leaning courts that have been hostile to his administration's approach to requiring vaccines.
The OSHA rule was initially blocked nationwide by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The various lawsuits targeting the OSHA policy were then consolidated before the 6th Circuit. In the 2-1 vote, the 6th Circuit wiped away the 5th Circuit order halting the OSHA mandate.
The decision, from the 6th Circuit, came after a separate appeals court on Friday declined a Justice Department request that it reinstate the administration's federal contractor mandate, which had been blocked nationwide by a federal judge earlier this month.
A third Biden mandate -- requiring vaccines for certain heath care workers -- is being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, after lower courts froze it in half the states in the country.
