Appeals court lets Biden administration enforce vaccine rules for large employers

By CNN Newsource

Published December 17, 2021 5:54 PM

By Tierney Sneed, CNN

The Biden administration scored a significant victory Friday in its court battles to enforce various federal vaccine mandates, with an appeals court ruling that the government can enforce a vaccine-or-testing rule for companies with more than 100 employees.

The decision, from the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals, 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 Supreme Court, after lower courts froze it in half the states in the country.

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 President Joe 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 US Circuit Court of Appeals. The various lawsuits targeting the OSHA policy were then consolidated before the 6th Circuit. In a 2-1 vote, the 6th Circuit wiped away the 5th Circuit order halting the OSHA mandate.

This story is breaking and will be updated.