Date Filed: November 7, 2021
Original Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Appeals: U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status: Victory
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an emergency temporary standard that imposed a vaccine mandate on private employees. Biden Administration officials had acknowledged OSHA’s standard as “the ultimate work-around” to impose a federal vaccine mandate. This is despite Congress never authorizing the Executive Branch to mandate a vaccine, and the constitutional difficulties with the federal government enforcing such a mandate.
CAF filed a motion for stay on behalf of various states and private businesses who would be harmed by the Biden vaccine mandate. The Fifth Circuit granted CAF’s motion to stay the vaccine mandate while the case was litigated. The cases challenging the vaccine mandate were eventually consolidated in the Sixth Circuit and appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court agreed that OSHA did not have the power to issue a vaccine mandate and continued the stay while the case was litigated. Realizing that they had lost, OSHA withdrew the vaccine mandate 13 days after the Supreme Court issued its ruling.
Case Documents:
Motion for Expedited Consideration
Respondents Opposition to Emergency Stay Motion
Reply in Support of Emergency Stay Motion