No images? Click here OSHA Files Emergency Motion to Dissolve the Fifth Circuit’s StayOn Tuesday, November 23, 2021, OSHA filed an emergency motion to dissolve the Fifth Circuit’s stay of OSHA’s vaccine mandate, taking three distinct positions. OSHA principally argues, as expected, that it is likely to succeed on the merits because, OSHA reasonably concluded that the standard is necessary to address a grave danger, the Fifth Circuit’s statutory interpretation was flawed and its “constitutional concerns” were mistaken. OSHA also argues there was ample support for its determinations, and that the balance of equities tips in its favor. OSHA also stakes out a middle position, arguing that the Sixth Circuit should modify the stay so that the masking-and-testing requirement can remain in effect during the pendency of this litigation. If nothing else, OSHA argues, the Sixth Circuit should not block its ruling giving employers the option to adopt COVID-19 policies. This would shield employers from state and local requirements that limit employers’ authority to require vaccination, face covering, or testing. Read more HERE. Biden Ramping Up Labor Agenda as Midterms LoomThree developments central to shaping the Biden administration’s workplace policy agenda are likely to converge in the next month. The first involves the fate of transformative labor provisions in Democrats’ House-approved reconciliation bill, now subject to negotiation in the Senate. Second is the White House’s yet-to-be-unveiled task force report recommending executive actions to aid union organizing. And third is the semiannual agenda that lists each federal agency’s rulemaking playbook over the next year. These items are operating on separate tracks, yet they’re all connected. Read more HERE. Republicans are changing state laws to try to get out of federal vaccine mandatesRepublican lawmakers across the country look determined to take on the Biden administration's insistence that employers require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The Kansas legislature meets in special session starting Monday, November 29, 2021, to engage in battle with the federal government over the vaccine mandates. But courts will likely have the final say on whether the mandates are legal, and some worry such bold action could further atrophy the state's ability to respond to public health crises and could put employers in a legal quandary. Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration paused enforcement of its own temporary emergency standard requiring companies with 100 employees or more to mandate that workers either get vaccinated or submit to regular testing by January 4, 2022. Read more HERE. Opponents of Health Worker Vaccine Mandate Aim for Right CourtThe second and third challenges from Republican-led states to the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for health-care workers are strategic plays to maximize the chances that a federal appeals court blocks the rule. Republican-led states are pushing back against President Joe Biden‘s sweeping vaccine mandates, with an Occupational Safety and Health Administration vaccine-or-test rule for large employers being the main target. The Fifth Circuit blocked that rule, making the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ health-care worker rule the next priority. The two lawsuits against the health-worker rule make similar claims to the first that the vaccine mandate will worsen health-care staffing shortages. If enough workers leave their jobs rather than get the jab, the states claim, the mandate could jeopardize access to care, particularly in rural communities. The second suit was filed on behalf of 12 states with Republican attorneys general in federal court in Louisiana. Texas filed the third federal suit. The Fifth Circuit, which would hear appeals of both lawsuits, has 19 judges appointed by Republican presidents out of 26 active or senior judges. If you have not yet participated in our grassroots campaigns, but would like to take action to oppose the PRO Act or oppose the harmful tax hikes in the American Job’s Plan, click the Take Action tab above now.
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