Last Updated on November 18, 2021
Earlier this month the Biden regime officially unveiled its long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine mandate that would have required all employers with more than 100 workers to force their employees to accept one of the controversial vaccines or lose their paycheck. Now, the regulatory agency charged with enforcing Joe Biden’s mandate is calling it quits.
Until today, the Biden regime ordered businesses with more than 100 employees to fire their unvaccinated workers or face fines of $14,000 per employee from OSHA, a regulatory agency within the Department of Labor, and up to $136,000 for businesses that are found to be in “willful violation” of the requirements.
As lawsuits mounted and court decisions were announced, Republicans threatened to defund the government over the matter, and Rep. Andy Biggs introduced legislation to end OSHA entirely, the Biden administration has apparently blinked first by authorizing OSHA to follow court orders and – at least temporarily – end its vaccine crusade.
On its website, OSHA now offers a disclaimer above any additional information: “On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a motion to stay OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, published on November 5, 2021 (86 Fed. Reg. 61402) (“ETS”).”
The regulatory body explains, “The court ordered that OSHA ‘take no steps to implement or enforce’ the ETS ‘until further court order.'” Accordingly, “OSHA has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation.”
Corporate America, meanwhile, seems uncertain what to make of the development. On paper, businesses have until January to fire or vaccinate their employees, though there is currently no enforcement mechanism in place. Should the 5th Circuit Court, which ordered OSHA to stop enforcing the mandate, change its mind, then employers could be given an impossibly short amount of time to fire and replace their workforce before fines begin accruing.
However, some Republicans have proven to be allies of both business and the individual. As National File previously reported, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) recently revealed that Senate Republicans reportedly have a plan to withhold government funding unless the mandate is revoked, and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) has introduced legislation to disband OSHA entirely, which may prove popular among conservatives should Republicans retake the House next year.
