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 The ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati
lifted a November injunction that had blocked the rule from the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which applies
to businesses with at least 100 workers.
"It is difficult to imagine what more OSHA could do or rely on to
justify its finding that workers face a grave danger in the
workplace," said the opinion. "It is not appropriate to second-guess
that agency determination considering the substantial evidence,
including many peer-reviewed scientific studies, on which it
relied."
President Joe Biden unveiled in September regulations to increase
the adult vaccination rate as a way of fighting the pandemic, which
has killed more than 750,000 Americans and weighed on the economy.
The ruling coincides with public health officials bracing for a
"tidal wave" https://www.reuters.com/world/us/tidal-wave-omicron-could-put-us-covid-19-surge-into-overdrive-2021-12-17
of coronavirus infections in the United States as the more
transmissible Omicron variant spreads rapidly worldwide.
"While we are disappointed in the Court’s decision, we will continue
to fight the illegal mandate in the Supreme Court," South Carolina
Attorney General Alan Wilson said on Twitter. "We are confident the
mandate can be stopped."
Within hours of the ruling, at least three petitions were filed with
the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to immediately block the mandate.
A group of business groups representing retail, wholesale,
warehousing, transportation, travel and logistics filed one of the
first petitions with the high court, raising among other issues the
potential for workers to quit rather than take the shot.
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 "The resulting labor upheaval
will devastate already fragile supply chains and
labor markets at the peak holiday season," said
the petition.
Companies such as United Airlines have used
mandates to increase the number of vaccinated
employees, often with only a small number of
workers refusing the shots. But
others such as Boeing Co have suspended their plans, in part because
of court rulings putting government mandates on hold, but also due
to resistance among workers.
Courts have blocked Biden's vaccine requirement for healthcare
workers in half the states and a vaccine mandate for federal
contractors has been blocked nationwide.
Friday's ruling was 2-1 with Judges Jane Stranch, appointed by
President Barack Obama, and Julia Gibbons, appointed by President
George W. Bush, in the majority. Judge Joan Larsen, appointed by
President Donald Trump, dissented.
Republicans, conservative groups and trade organizations sued over
the OSHA rule, arguing the agency overstepped its authority.
The rule set a Jan. 4 deadline for compliance, although it was
unclear if that will be enforced because the rule was blocked for
weeks.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; editing by Diane
Craft, Grant McCool and Sonya Hepinstall)
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