Appeals court temporarily blocks Biden’s workplace vaccine mandate – By Jake Thomas (UPI) / Nov 6 2021
Nov. 6 (UPI) — A federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily stayed the Biden administration’s mandate directing private-sector workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The three-judge panel in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the new federal mandate for companies with more than 100 employees to require their workers to get vaccinated, or submit to weekly tests and masking. Those that defy the rules face fines as high as $14,000 per violation.
On Thursday, the Biden administration rolled out the mandate as its latest effort to goad tens of millions of unvaccinated workers to get the jab. The requirement was scheduled to take effect Jan. 4 and would affect about 84 million workers.
Over a dozen businesses and individuals, as well as the states of Texas, Louisiana, Utah and South Carolina swiftly brought a challenge arguing the mandate was constitutionally out of bounds.
