As the Federal Court suspended President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine authorization for private companies, tens of millions of workers across the United States are in a difficult situation. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Georgia retained the vaccine authorization for employers of companies that had contracted with the federal government. Prior to this, the Biden government similarly suspended authorizations for employees of large private companies and certain healthcare workers nationwide.

The court is responding to lawsuits filed by Republican-led states, companies and other opponents. Many other legal challenges are pending, some of which involve groups of states, while others are raised by states alone.

These rulings caused some large employers to stop vaccinating. They include Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan Academic Medical Center, the three largest state universities in Kansas, and Phoenix.

Despite other legal challenges, the Biden administration’s separate vaccine regulations for federal government employees and the military are still in effect, and the mask requirements for airline passengers and people using public transportation are still in effect.

The legal case involves whether the federal government can force employers to request vaccinations. The court generally accepts the requirements set by companies and universities themselves.

More than four-fifths of adults across the country have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.But Biden believes that his requirements for various labor vaccines are an important step in increasing vaccination rates and curbing the outbreak of the virus, which has caused more than 790,000 deaths in the United States.

Opponents used a three-tier approach to challenge these requirements. In the lawsuit, they argued that the mandatory requirements for vaccines were imposed without proper public comment, were not authorized by Congress, and violated the state’s right to supervise public health affairs.

Gregory Magarian, professor of constitutional law at Washington University in St. Louis, said: “The reasoning in these cases is basically the same, that is, these regulations do not give the president or related agencies the power to issue authorization.”.

The Biden administration argues that its power to make rules is firm and can replace any national policy that bans vaccine requirements. Recent experience has shown that such directives usually prompt people to get vaccinated: By the time Biden’s requirement for federal workers to be vaccinated took effect last month, 92% of people had received at least the first dose of the vaccine.

The following is an outline of some of Biden’s most comprehensive vaccine requirements and the current state of the legal battle against these requirements.

Large business commission

What it will do: According to the rules issued by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration on November 5, companies with 100 or more workers will require employees to be vaccinated. If not, they will need to be tested weekly and wear masks at work, except for those who work alone or work outdoors most of the time. The rule will take effect on January 4. The requirement will affect companies with a cumulative total of 84 million employees, and OSHA estimates that it can save 6,500 lives and prevent 250,000 hospitalizations within six months.

Who is challenging it: This requirement is being challenged by 27 Republican-led state governments, conservative and business groups, and some individual businesses. Most of the states filed lawsuits in class, although Indiana individually challenged them. Their argument includes that the handling of public health measures is the job of the states, not the federal government. The Biden administration insists that the measure is legal. Some unions also raised objections to the rule, but for different reasons from the Republican Party and business groups. They say this is not enough to protect workers.

Its position: The rules are shelved. The day after states challenged the rule, a panel of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans blocked the rule. At first, this was a temporary suspension, and then a more permanent suspension. The initial legal challenge was raised in various courts of appeal in the United States. Subsequently, these cases were merged into a randomly selected court, the sixth court in Cincinnati.

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U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

Next step: The Biden administration asks the Sixth Circuit to shelve the Fifth Circuit’s order and allow vaccine demand. At the same time, OSHA has suspended the implementation of the rule. The prosecuting group hopes that all the judges on the Sixth Circuit will decide the issue, not a panel of some of them.

Health worker tasks

What it will do: According to a rule issued by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid on November 5, many health care providers receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds will require workers to receive the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine until 12 On 6th, and fully vaccinated before January 4th. The rule will affect more than 17 million workers in approximately 76,000 healthcare institutions and home healthcare providers.

Who is challenging it: The rule has been challenged in four separate lawsuits filed by Republican-led states, mainly class-action lawsuits. Florida and Texas are also facing their own challenges. The states argued that there was no reason to enact emergency rules, CMS did not have a clear legal authorization to issue authorizations, and that the rules violated the responsibilities of the states.

Its position: The rules are shelved. A federal judge in Missouri issued a preliminary injunction on November 29, prohibiting enforcement of the injunction in the 10 states where the initial prosecution was initiated. The next day, a federal judge in Louisiana also issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement in other states.

Next step: The Biden administration is appealing these two court rulings. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis is hearing a case filed in Missouri. The case brought by a coalition of 14 states in Louisiana is currently being heard by the Fifth Circuit. So far, there has been no move to consolidate the challenge into one court.

Federal contractor authorization

What it will do: According to an executive order issued by Biden on September 9th, contractors and subcontractors of the federal government must comply with workplace safety guidelines set by the Federal Working Group. The working group subsequently issued guidelines requiring new, renewed or extended contracts to include a clause requiring employees to be fully vaccinated on January 18. This means that those who receive two doses of the vaccine must get the second dose before January 4. There are only limited exceptions for medical or religious reasons. These requirements may apply to millions of employees.

CMS requires healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID before January 4

Who is challenging it: These guidelines have been challenged by more than a dozen lawsuits, seven of which were filed by a Republican-led state or coalition of states. These arguments are similar to those opposed to other vaccine authorizations, claiming that the Biden administration has exceeded the procurement rule-making power granted by Congress, violated the responsibilities of states, and failed to properly collect public opinions.

Its position: The rules are shelved. A federal judge in Georgia issued a ruling on December 7 prohibiting the implementation of the contractor requirements nationwide. A week ago, a Kentucky judge prohibited the enforcement of the request in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

Next step: Unresolved legal challenges in several other states may lead to additional rulings on injunction requests. Decisions in Kentucky or Georgia can also be appealed.

A rapid merger of federal contractor lawsuits seems unlikely.