Florida launching fight against vaccination requirementsHours after the Biden administration moved forward with COVID-19 vaccination requirements for tens of millions of workers, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that Florida will join Georgia, Alabama and private plaintiffs in filing a legal challenge.
The lawsuit, which is expected to be filed Friday at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, will challenge a rule issued by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration that will apply to employers with 100 or more workers. The rule will take effect Jan. 4 and require employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or test negative at least once a week.
DeSantis said Florida also will challenge a separate rule issued Thursday by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that will apply to health-care facilities, such as hospitals and nursing homes, that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Workers in the facilities will have to show they have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine by Dec. 5 and be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4.
During an afternoon news conference at the Capitol, DeSantis blasted the Biden administration for imposing vaccination requirements on workers.
“People are so sick of constantly being bossed around, restricted, mandated, and all of these different things,” DeSantis said. “We’ve had enough of it, and we want people to be able to make their own decisions.”
But leaders of the two federal agencies issued statements Thursday pointing to a need for vaccination requirements as the pandemic nears the start of its second year.
“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. “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. 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.”
The OSHA rule is expected to affect 84 million workers nationwide, while the health-care rule is estimated to apply to 17 million, according to federal numbers.
“Today’s action addresses the risk of unvaccinated health-care staff to patient safety and provides stability and uniformity across the nation’s health-care system to strengthen the health of people and the providers who care for them,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in a prepared statement.
DeSantis said challenges to OSHA actions can be filed in federal appeals courts, rather than through the typical process of filing in district courts. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hears cases from Florida, Georgia and Alabama.
It was not immediately clear where the lawsuit challenging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rule will be filed, though DeSantis indicated more details will come Friday.................
https://www.winknews.com/2021/11/05/florida-launching-fight-against-vaccination-requirements/
