WASHINGTON (TND) — On Thursday, the Supreme Court put an end to two months-long legal battles. In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled to block the vaccine mandate for large employers.
In a majority opinion, the justices said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration does not have the authority to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine, saying the virus is not considered an occupational hazard for most jobs. That mandate would have applied to two-thirds of the American workforce.
Lawmakers, politicians and business leaders are expressing their opinions after the court blocked President Joe Biden's mandate.
Biden and members of his administration have made clear their disappointment with the decision.
"I am disappointed that the Supreme Court has chosen to block common-sense life-saving requirements for employees at large businesses that were grounded squarely in both science and the law," Biden said in a statement. This emergency standard allowed employers to require vaccinations or to permit workers to refuse to be vaccinated, so long as they were tested once a week and wore a mask at work: a very modest burden."
The president also called on companies to implement their own vaccine mandates.
"I call on business leaders to immediately join those who have already stepped up – including one third of Fortune 100 companies – and institute vaccination requirements to protect their workers, customers, and communities," Biden's statement went on to say.
U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said the decision is a "major setback" to the health and safety of employees across the country. He also backed the president's statement urging employers to issue their own mandates.
Trade groups, however, are calling the ruling a victory for businesses.
The National Retail Federation, the American Trucking Association and the National Federation of Independent Businesses all released statements Thursday. These are just some of the more than two dozen trade associations that challenged the mandate.
The groups say that while they do support vaccinations, they believe a mandate would make labor shortages even worse.
In an opinion, the court said OSHA does not have the authority to mandate COVID-19 vaccines, saying the virus is not considered an occupational hazard for most jobs.
One mandate will be allowed to stand, in part. In a 5-4 ruling, the court allowed the vaccine requirement for healthcare workers to go into effect at facilities that take Medicare and Medicaid payments.
READ THE FULL STATEMENTS BELOW
National Retail Federation
The National Retail Federation today issued the following statement from Senior Vice President of Government Relations David French regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reimpose a stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) COVID-19 employer-based vaccination and testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). NRF joined more than 26 other trade associations last week to present oral arguments before the court on the legality of the mandate.
“While NRF has maintained a strong and consistent position related to the importance of vaccines in helping to overcome this pandemic, the Supreme Court’s decision to stay OSHA’s onerous and unprecedented ETS is a significant victory for employers. As NRF and other plaintiffs articulated in our briefs before the court, OSHA clearly exceeded its authority promulgating its original mandate under emergency powers without giving stakeholders the benefit of a rulemaking process.
“NRF urges the Biden Administration to discard this unlawful mandate and instead work with employers, employees and public health experts on practical ways to increase vaccination rates and mitigate the spread of the virus in 2022.”
American Trucking Association
Today, the American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of the Biden Administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for employers:
“Today, ATA has won a tremendous victory on behalf of the trucking industry and workers and employers everywhere. Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court validates our claim that OSHA far overstepped its authority in issuing an emergency temporary standard that would interfere with individuals’ private health care decisions.
“Trucking has been on the front lines throughout the pandemic – delivering PPE, medical supplies, food, clothing, fuel, and even the vaccines themselves. Thanks to this ruling, our industry will continue to deliver critical goods, as our nation recovers from the pandemic and we move our economy forward.”
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) applauds today’s decision from the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a stay of OSHA’s vaccine mandate, which requires businesses with 100 or more employees to have employees vaccinated or undergo weekly testing.
National Federation of Independent Businesses
“Today’s decision is welcome relief for America’s small businesses, who are still trying to get their business back on track since the beginning of the pandemic,” said Karen Harned, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “As small businesses try to recover after almost two years of significant business disruptions, the last thing they need is a mandate that would cause more business challenges. We are pleased the Supreme Court stopped the rule from taking effect while the courts consider whether or not it is legal. We are optimistic that the courts will ultimately agree with us that OSHA does not have the emergency authority to regulate the entire American workforce.”
NFIB originally filed a legal challenge against the mandate in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the ETS is unconstitutional and requested a stay of the mandate. After the Sixth Circuit lifted the stay, NFIB filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting an immediate stay of OSHA’s emergency temporary standard.
NFIB’s legal challenge argues three main points:
OSHA needed to use the typical notice-and-comment procedure for the mandate to gather input.
A nationwide COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandate, monitoring, and database is fundamentally a policy decision that should be left to Congress.
The mandate will result in unrecoverable compliance costs, lost profits, lost sales, and further exacerbate the labor shortage for small businesses.
The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently involved in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.
