Lawsuits challenging Biden workplace vaccine rule sent to 6th Circuit
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[November 17, 2021]
By Tom Hals
(Reuters) -A judicial panel on Tuesday
consolidated 34 lawsuits challenging the Biden administration's
workplace COVID-19 vaccine rule in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals, a venue favored by opponents of the rule.
President Joe Biden announced plans for the vaccine requirement in
September, seeking to stem a surge in COVID-19 cases and get more people
back to work.
The Cincinnati appeals court was chosen randomly and will take up the
challenges to the rule, which compels employers with at least 100
workers to mandate COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing combined with
face masks at work.
The court, which has 10 Republican-appointed judges and five appointed
by Democratic presidents, was the venue where Kentucky, a conservative
media company and religious groups filed their challenges.
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The rule was issued as an emergency temporary standard by the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which said it will
prevent 250,000 hospitalizations. The rule set a Jan. 4 deadline for
compliance.
In court, the administration must show that a "grave danger" required an
emergency standard, which allows the agency to bypass a years-long
rulemaking process.
OSHA has issued 10 emergency standards in its 50-year history, and of
six challenged in court, only one survived intact.
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![](../images/111721PIX/news_n27.jpg)
A man wears an anti-vaccine button as people and teachers protest
against New York City mandated vaccines against the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) in front of the United States Court in Manhattan
in New York City, New York, U.S., October 12, 2021. REUTERS/Mike
Segar/File Photo
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Vaccine mandates are deeply controversial in the
United States. Supporters say they are helping to end the nearly
two-year coronavirus pandemic, while opponents argue they violate
the U.S. Constitution and curb individual liberty.
On Friday, a three-judge panel on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of
Appeals in New Orleans blocked the rule, calling it a
"one-size-fits-all sledgehammer."
The court noted nearly 80% of working-age Americans are vaccinated
and many workers such as truckers are at little risk of exposure.
The Biden administration is expected to ask the 6th Circuit Court of
Appeals to revisit that ruling. Legal experts expect the challenges
to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Noeleen
Walder, Dan Grebler and Cynthia Osterman)
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