Topline
An appeals court left in place a national block on President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees Wednesday, declining to overrule a lower court ruling that halted a key part of the Biden Administration’s coronavirus vaccination strategy.
NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 14: Lenox Hill Hospital Chair of Emergency Medicine Yves Duroseau receives … [+]
Key Facts
The conservative-leaning Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to immediately put on hold a lower court injunction against the mandate by a vote of 2-1, and asked both parties to file arguments in March, in a ruling that didn’t include an explanation.
The lower court’s injunction was issued by a Texas-based judge about three weeks ago, temporarily halting the mandate while a lawsuit works its way through the courts.
Judge Stephen A. Higginson, an Obama appointee, argued in his dissent of the ruling that 12 district courts refused requests to enjoin the order, before one judge from the Southern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction.
Chief Critic
“Today, our court too refuses to rule,” Higginson wrote. “Thus, a presidential order affecting millions of federal employees has been enjoined nationwide, yet two separate federal courts have failed to rule on the Government’s emergency request for a stay. The only court that can now provide timely relief is the Supreme Court.”
Key Backgroundction Title
Biden’s order required millions of government workers to be vaccinated by November 22 unless they have a medical or religious exemption. Employees who refuse to comply could face discipline or firing, though the White House said in December that 97.2% of federal employees were in compliance and 92.5% had already received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose. In January, the Supreme Court blocked Biden’s Covid-19 vaccine-or-test rule for employees of companies with 100 or more workers, though many employees have elected to require the vaccine anyway. The White House’s vaccine requirement for healthcare workers remains as the only federal mandate in effect, with the Supreme Court allowing the rule to stand in January.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/masonbissada/2022/02/09/appeals-court-wont-immediately-reverse-block-of-bidens-federal-employee-vaccine-mandate/