OK. So I was pretty ticked this morning when they high court didn’t act on this. I was saying all sorts of stuff. I may have even put “Supreme Court is Asshoe” on Facebook. OK. I definitely did.
But I take that back. Somewhat. Only somewhat.
The AP: The Supreme Court has stopped the Biden administration from enforcing a requirement that employees at large businesses be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing and wear a mask on the job.
The court’s order Thursday during a spike in coronavirus cases deals a blow to the administration’s efforts to boost the vaccination rate among Americans.
At the same time, the court is allowing the administration to proceed with a vaccine mandate for most health care workers in the U.S.
The court’s orders Thursday during a spike in coronavirus cases was a mixed bag for the administration’s efforts to boost the vaccination rate among Americans.
The court’s conservative majority concluded the administration overstepped its authority by seeking to impose the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s vaccine-or-test rule on U.S. businesses with at least 100 employees. More than 80 million people would have been affected.
“OSHA has never before imposed such a mandate. Nor has Congress. Indeed, although Congress has enacted significant legislation addressing the COVID–19 pandemic, it has declined to enact any measure similar to what OSHA has promulgated here,” the conservatives wrote in an unsigned opinion.
In dissent, the court’s three liberals argued that it was the court that was overreaching by substituting its judgment for that of health experts. “Acting outside of its competence and without legal basis, the Court displaces the judgments of the Government officials given the responsibility to respond to workplace health emergencies,” Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a joint dissent.”
This is a really big deal. OSHA, a department filled with unelected deep staters, has no business telling regular people what they must inject into themselves. A lot of people were really waiting on this one, hoping and praying that the court would do the right thing.
Because where would it stop? Would OSHA mandate boosters? Three? Four? Five? Yearly?
This is a big day.
It sucks about healthcare workers but right now I’m going to focus on the win. Tomorrow I’ll get all bitchy about the rest. Tonight I’m taking the W.
January 16, 2022 at 2:26 am
Don’t Panic. . . It isn’t what you think.
Even though SCOTUS ruled to allow the HHS requirement that Medicare and Medicaid participating facilities ensure that their staff are vaccinated against COVID-19, the rule exempts employees whom hold medical and/or religious exemptions as well as those whom telework full-time.
What does this mean? It means that nothing has really changed for healthcare workers who have deeply held religious objections to taking the vaccines, those that are medically exempt (I would argue that naturally immune should qualify), and all of you who work full-time at home. Many hospitals and facilities are trying to claim “Undue Hardship” due to the CMS rule and this is simply unfounded.
The hospitals WILL STILL GET THEIR FEDERAL MEDICARE/MEDICAID FUNDING. So the “Undue Hardship” clause they want to claim can’t be used regarding this ruling. (They may however try to use the “Undue Hardship” clause for other reasons).
Here is the SCOTUS opinions for the Medicare/Healthcare Workers Case where only 4 out the 9 Justices voiced dissent (JUSTICE ALITO, JUSTICE THOMAS, JUSTICE GORSUCH, and JUSTICE BARRETT): https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a240_d18e.pdf
“The rule requires providers to offer medical and religious ex- emptions, and does not cover staff who telework full-time. Id., at 61571–61572. A facility’s failure to comply may lead to monetary penalties, denial of payment for new admis- sions, and ultimately termination of participation in the (medicare) programs.”
The OSHA opinion that SCOTUS STAYED yesterday is a huge win for all private employers and employees across the nation. The vote was 6:3 in favor of halting the Biden Administration’s use of OSHA to regulate pubic health measures such as vaccinations as COVID-19 is not restrictive to just the workplace. So 84.5Million American workers and employers can celebrate that freedom to choose whether you have to get vaccinated isn’t dictated by the federal government agency OSHA. This doesn’t mean that an employer can’t require vaccinations of their workers however, but they are still bound by MI state and federal laws to provide appropriate accommodations for employees whom hold deeply help religious/spiritual beliefs and those who cannot medically get vaccinated.
To Read the SCOTUS Opinion on OSHA Case: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a244_hgci.pdf