The U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has officially withdrawn the Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard for companies with at least 100 companies on Tuesday. The emergency temporary standard was established to enforce the Biden administration's COVID vaccine mandate for private organizations, which was blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 13.
A statement from the U.S. Department of Labor said that the withdrawal will take effect on January 26, but the OSHA will retain the standard as a general proposal. The Labor Department explained, "Although OSHA is withdrawing the vaccination and testing ETS as an enforceable emergency temporary standard, the agency is not withdrawing the ETS as a proposed rule."
"OSHA strongly encourages vaccination of workers against the continuing dangers posed by COVID-19 in the workplace," the Department of Labor said. This earned a reaction from people on Twitter, who took to social media to express their varied reactions.
"They lost in court but they still managed to force millions to get the jab and to cause many others to lose their job, while their mandate was in place," one user remarked, as reported by Faithwire. "The damage to the country and citizens in the name of 'precaution' is despicable and demonic."
According to CNBC, the Biden administration is concluding its legal battle over the COVID vaccine mandate for now. The OSHA is also set to request the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to drop all cases related to the COVID vaccine mandate, a Department of Labor spokesperson said. The Biden administration has faced several lawsuits from Republican led states, private businesses, national trade associations, and religious groups, all of which the Sixth Circuit has jurisdiction over.
OSHA initially developed the COVID vaccine mandate under emergency powers, which the agency uses to cut short the time it needs to implement a new rule in the event that the labor secretary believes workers face grave danger. These emergency rules also serve as proposals for future permanent measures. The agency intends to maintain the vaccine mandate as a proposal moving forward. A Labor Department spokesperson said that the agency is still evaluating the "evolving course of the pandemic" and is yet undecided about "when or if it will finalize a vaccination and testing rule."
However, the COVID vaccine and testing mandate may be met with more challenges. The Supreme Court's conservative majority, which blocked the mandate, were concerned about the scope of the overreaching mandate.
"The Supreme Court made it clear that President Biden administration's attempt to federalize the nation's workforce is blatantly unconstitutional," First Liberty Institute President, CEO, and Chief Counsel Kelly Shackelford said. "OSHA had no choice but to withdraw its unlawful ETS, but it needs to completely put an end to this dangerous government overreach."
First Liberty Institute, a legal organization geared towards protecting religious freedom, committed to fighting for individuals who seek religious exemptions to the COVID vaccine in the face of workplace vaccine mandates.
