On Saturday, a federal appeals court in Louisiana temporarily halted the Biden administration’s vaccine requirement for businesses with 100 or more workers. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay of the requirement by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration that workers be vaccinated by Jan. 4 or face mask requirements and weekly tests.
At least 27 states have filed challenges to the Emergency Temporary Standard rule. The 5th Circuit, based in New Orleans, said it was delaying the federal vaccine requirement because of potential “grave statutory and constitutional issues” raised by the plaintiffs.
The Biden administration has until 5 p.m. today to respond to the request for a permanent injunction.
If the ETS does go into effect, the vaccine requirement would apply to about 84 million workers across the country.
PA Chamber Director of Government Affairs Alex Halper told ABC 27 News on Thursday that there are questions about how businesses are supposed to put this mandate in place.
“Pennsylvania businesses need to know what’s expected of them,” Halper said. “This rule is almost 500 pages long. There are so many details and the stakes are very high for employers.” A link to the story can be found on the ABC 27 News website.
A list of frequently asked questions about the vaccine mandates can be found on the OSHA website.