At least 27 states sue Biden Administration over OSHA vaccine mandate

Update (11/8/21): The number of states who have filed lawsuits against the new OSHA vaccine mandate has climbed to 27 as of Monday. Several businesses and associations filed legal challenges in at least six federal appeals courts.

The Biden administration wants all these challenges to by consolidated into one single federal court. In court filings, the Justice Department said Monday that one of the federal circuit courts should be chosen at random on Nov. 16 to hear the cases.

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Original Story (11/5/21): The attorneys general of 11 states filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration over the new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) vaccine mandate Friday. The video above shows White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responding to the lawsuit at a daily press briefing. The mandate requires “employers with 100 or more employees to ensure each of their workers is fully vaccinated or tests negative for COVID at least once a week”. The mandate took effect Thursday, setting a deadline for employees to be vaccinated by Jan. 4. Failure to comply could result in penalties of nearly $14,000 per violation.

“This mandate is unconstitutional, unlawful, and unwise,” the lawsuit reads. “The federal government lacks constitutional authority under its enumerated powers to issue this mandate, and its attempt to do so unconstitutionally infringes on the states’ powers expressly reserved by the Tenth Amendment.”

The attorneys general represent the following states:

• Missouri
• Arizona
• Nebraska
• Montana
• Arkansas
• Iowa
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Alaska
• New Hampshire
• Wyoming

“The federal government should not be forcing private employers to require their employees to get vaccinated or foot the cost to test those employees weekly,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who led the effort, said in a Friday news release. “Local business owners have told me that the vaccine mandate would decimate their businesses, including some that have been around for decades, and they’re certainly not alone.”

The top legal official for the U.S. Department of Labor, which includes OSHA, has said legal precedent allows it to issue a vaccine mandate that keeps workplaces safe and pre-empts state laws.

“COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on workers, and we continue to see dangerous levels of cases,” U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said Thursday. “We must take action to implement this emergency temporary standard to contain the virus and protect people in the workplace against the grave danger of COVID-19.” He went on to say “many businesses understand the benefits of having their workers vaccinated against COVID-19, and we expect many will be pleased to see this OSHA rule go into effect.”