Justices will hear arguments on Jan. 7 in challenges to Biden vaccine policies

[Elderberry]

SCOTUSblog by Amy Howe 12/22/2021

With COVID-19 cases surging across the country, the Supreme Court fast-tracked two disputes over the Biden administration’s efforts to expand vaccinations. In an unusual move, the justices announced on Wednesday night that they will hear oral arguments on Jan. 7 on two federal policies: a vaccine-or-test mandate for workers at large employers, and a vaccine mandate for health care workers at facilities that receive federal funding.

The cases came to the court last week on an emergency basis, and the formal question in both disputes is whether the government should be allowed to enforce the policies while litigation challenging them continues. But the justices’ views on whether to grant emergency relief will likely be influenced by their views on the merits of the underlying challenges themselves.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the vaccine-or-test mandate on Nov. 5. It requires all employers with more than 100 employees to mandate that those employees be either fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly and wear masks at work. Several challenges to the rule were filed around the country, by (among others) business groups, religious groups, and Republican-led states, arguing that the mandate exceeds OSHA’s authority. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit temporarily put the mandate on hold in November, but the challenges were consolidated in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which reinstated the mandate last week.

More: https://www.scotusblog.com/2021/12/justices-will-hear-arguments-on-jan-7-in-challenges-to-biden-vaccine-policies/

[Right_in_Virginia]

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to take up disputes over the Biden administration's nationwide vaccine-or-testing COVID-19 mandate for large businesses and a separate vaccine requirement for healthcare workers.

The brief court order said the court will hear oral arguments on Jan. 7 in the two cases, with rulings likely to follow in short order.

The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, delayed action on emergency requests in both cases that sought an immediate decision. The workplace mandate is currently in effect nationwide, while the healthcare worker mandate is blocked in half the 50 U.S. states.

An appeals court on Friday allowed the workplace mandate, which covers 80 million American workers, to go into effect, prompting businesses, states and other groups challenging the policy to ask the Supreme Court to block it.

The other case concerns whether the administration can require healthcare workers at facilities that treat federally funded Medicare and Medicaid patients to receive shots while litigation continues.

The Biden administration asked the court to allow the policy to go into effect in 24 states in which it was blocked by lower courts. It is also blocked in Texas in a separate case not before the justices.

President Joe Biden in September unveiled regulations to increase the adult vaccination rate as a way of fighting the pandemic, which has killed more than 800,000 Americans and weighed on the economy.

Among the challengers are 27 mostly Republican-led states, various individual businesses and business groups, and two groups of religious entities, including the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Business challengers include the National Federation of Independent Business, a trade group that represents small businesses.

Last week the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati lifted a November injunction that had blocked the workplace rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which applies to businesses with at least 100 workers.

The healthcare worker rule, also challenged by mostly Republican-led states, required more than 2 million unvaccinated healthcare workers to receive a first vaccine dose by Dec. 6.


https://www.newsmax.com/headline/supreme-court-biden-vaccine-mandate/2021/12/22/id/1049720/

[Cyber Liberty]

Stolen election deniers at NewsMax say wut?

[mystery-ak]

Supreme Court to Address Biden Vaccine Mandates with 'Special Session' Move Not Seen in Decades
https://nationalfile.com/supreme-court-addresses-biden-vaccine-mandates-special-session-move-not-seen-decades/

[mrclose]

[mountaineer]

Ilya Shapiro
@ishapiro
Sotomayor claims not to understand distinction between state and federal power. Mind-boggling. Calls OSHA's regulatory authority to be a "police power." OH SG tries to explain con law 101, eventually Roberts rescues the embarrassing discourse.
10:54 AM · Jan 7, 2022·


PATRIOT SOLDIER 92
@wohl34
Replying to  @ishapiro
Judge Sotomayor doesn't wants to attack his party. She prefers to sent this case through Osha can decide it. It's very weird that many democrats judges don't want to solve the real issues:Because they opted to protecting at themselves.
11:02 AM · Jan 7, 2022·


Chad Felix Greene
@chadfelixg
By Justice Sotomayor's logic, we'd have to wear masks permanently to prevent the spread of any airborne virus.
Imagine the federal regulations on sex to prevent the spread of STDs.
10:37 AM · Jan 7, 2022·


Phil Kerpen
@kerpen
I think Breyer just asserted that the OSHA mandate would prevent 100% of daily US COVID cases.
11:29 AM · Jan 7, 2022

[mrclose]

What pi$$e$ me off is: This should be an argument over the Constitutionality of the mandate .. Not Opinions on the medical advantages or disadvantages!

Good God .. None of these so called "Supremes" are Doctors, or are they?

[Bigun]

What pi$$e$ me off is: This should be an argument over the Constitutionality of the mandate .. Not Opinions on the medical advantages or disadvantages!

Good God .. None of these so called "Supremes" are Doctors, or are they?

  

Catturd ™
@catturd2
·
1h
Kagan and Sotomayor thinks their special feelings have something to do with the law.

What an embarrassing nightmare.

[Restored]

It sounds like "If we keep doing what we have been doing for the last 2 years, Covid will go away"

No. It's not going away. Blaming the phantom "unvaxxed" is just a strawman to cover for the fact that Faucism has failed and is failing. 

[Kamaji]

Ilya Shapiro
@ishapiro
Sotomayor claims not to understand distinction between state and federal power. Mind-boggling. Calls OSHA's regulatory authority to be a "police power." OH SG tries to explain con law 101, eventually Roberts rescues the embarrassing discourse.
10:54 AM · Jan 7, 2022·


PATRIOT SOLDIER 92
@wohl34
Replying to  @ishapiro
Judge Sotomayor doesn't wants to attack his party. She prefers to sent this case through Osha can decide it. It's very weird that many democrats judges don't want to solve the real issues:Because they opted to protecting at themselves.
11:02 AM · Jan 7, 2022·


Chad Felix Greene
@chadfelixg
By Justice Sotomayor's logic, we'd have to wear masks permanently to prevent the spread of any airborne virus.
Imagine the federal regulations on sex to prevent the spread of STDs.
10:37 AM · Jan 7, 2022·


Phil Kerpen
@kerpen
I think Breyer just asserted that the OSHA mandate would prevent 100% of daily US COVID cases.
11:29 AM · Jan 7, 2022

Sounds like a lot of ill-informed justices.