Court temporarily blocks Biden administration vaccine mandate for private businesses
The Biden administration’s new COVID-19 vaccine requirement for businesses with 100 or more employees was blocked on Saturday by a federal appeals court.
In an emergency stay granted by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana, the requirement set Thursday by the federal government that workers of large private businesses be vaccinated by Jan. 4 or face mask requirements and weekly tests is temporarily suspended.
The action comes a day after Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on Friday announced that the state’s attorney general had filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors.
“Yesterday, Mississippi filed a lawsuit to block it. Today, courts have temporarily BLOCKED it as a result of our suit. The fight continues, but this is a big first step,” Reeves tweeted Saturday.
The governor has said a second lawsuit should be filed soon by the Attorney General’s Office regarding the vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees.
The legal action taken Saturday was filed by the states of Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Utah, several companies and conservative religious groups.
It stops President Joe Biden “from moving forward with his unlawful overreach,” according to Louisiana Attorney General Landry.
“Because the petitions give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate, the Mandate is hereby STAYED pending further action by this court,” a panel of judges for the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Saturday.
The Biden administration has said the requirement, which includes penalties of nearly $14,000 per violation, should be able to withstand legal challenges.
The government must provide an expedited reply to the motion for a permanent injunction Monday, followed by petitioners’ reply on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
