Featured Image

Courts Block Vaccine Mandates

Updated Dec. 8: This week, a federal court judge in Georgia temporarily halted the vaccine mandate for federal contractors nationwide until several challenges to the order play out in court.
Dec 08, 2021

Federal Contractor Mandate

This week, a federal court judge in Georgia temporarily halted the vaccine mandate for federal contractors nationwide until several challenges to the order play out in court. U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker said in the order that the challengers, who claim President Joe Biden exceeded his authority, would likely succeed. Biden vowed to defend the order in court vigorously. 

The mandate states that federal contractors' employees must be fully vaccinated no later than Jan. 18, 2022. 

Resources For Federal Contractors

Private Business Mandate

Last month, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals extended the stay of the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for private businesses. The rule requires companies with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are either vaccinated against the coronavirus or tested weekly starting Jan. 4, 2022. The court ordered OSHA to "take no steps to implement or enforce" the ETS "until further court order."

Now it's up to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to decide whether to maintain the stay and how to resolve a consolidation of additional legal challenges to the ETS filed across the country. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) selected the 6th Circuit by lottery at the request of the Justice Department. 

Meanwhile, in Congress, Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Rep. Fred Keller, R-Pa., introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) challenge to the ETS. The CRA allows Congress to challenge rules issued by the administration. If passed, the ETS would be nullified, and OSHA could not issue any similar rule in the future. All 50 Republican senators and close to 200 representatives have cosponsored the resolutions. However, passage is an uphill battle, given that it requires support from Democrats and a signature by the president. 

Resources For Private Employers With 100+ Employees 

Advocacy

  • Written comments on any aspect of the OSHA ETS can be submitted for the public record by Jan 19, 2022, in Docket No. OSHA-2021-0007. Over 75,000 comments have been received.

  • To reach out to Congress and express opposition to the OSHA ETS, visit safetynotmandates.com


This article originally ran Nov. 30, 2021. The Federal Contractor Mandate portion has been updated. The original text of that section can be found below.

Federal Contractor Mandate Remains in Place

The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force recently clarified that covered contractor employees must be fully vaccinated no later than Jan. 18, 2022. This requirement is not affected by the OSHA ETS stay.

PicturePicture
Author
Amber Thomas
Vice President, Advocacy
Recent advocacy News
President Biden’s recent State of the Union address and Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal signal potential tax hikes. What are the implications for manufacturing competitiveness and economic strategy?
Last fall, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued two rules relating to toxic substances that significantly impact manufacturers and suppliers. Learn about these guidelines affecting PIP (3:1) and PFAS – and how they affect your business.
Policy makers came together at The MFG Meeting 2023 to share data and insights on policy-making actions of concern to manufacturers. Here are seven key takeaways that may impact your manufacturing business.
Reducing water use is not a big concern for most manufacturers, but there are solid reasons to look at better water efficiency now before challenges arise in the future.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP) announced awards of roughly $400,000 to each of its MEP National Network Centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
Similar News
undefined
Technology
By Bonnie Gurney | Mar 18, 2024

While additive manufacturing has significantly matured, further development depends on the current market evolving, which will require developing opportunities to showcase it as well as changing how we think of it – that it's more than 3D printing a part.

6 min
undefined
Intelligence
By Christopher Chidzik | Mar 13, 2024

January 2024 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $204.5 million, according to USCTI and AMT. This total was up 9.1% from December’s $187.5 million and up 4.1% when compared with the $196.5 million reported for January 2023.

3 min
undefined
Intelligence
By Christopher Chidzik | Mar 12, 2024

Orders of manufacturing technology, measured by the U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report published by AMT, totaled $338 million in January 2024, a 31% decline from December and a 3.7% decline from January 2023.

5 min