OSHA Rule Struck Down By the Supreme Court

Supreme Court blocks OSHA vax or test rule, calling it a “significant encroachment into the lives—and health—of a vast number of employees.”

The Supreme Court has blocked OSHA’s vax or test rule applicable to employers with 100+ employees.

The OSHA rule is now stayed (paused) while the case gets litigated in the lower court, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

A brief summary:

-The applicants are likely to succeed on their claim that OSHA lacks authority to impose the vax or test mandate.

-Administrative agencies are “creatures of statute…and [] possess only the authority that Congress has provided.

…[OSHA] has ordered 84 million Americans to either obtain a COVID–19 vaccine or undergo weekly medical testing at their own expense.

This is no ‘everyday exercise of federal power.'”

“The Act empowers [OSHA] to set workplace safety standards, not broad public health measures.”

The OSHA rule “operates as a blunt instrument” and its exemptions for outdoor and remote workers are “largely illusory.”

“Permitting OSHA to regulate the hazards of daily life—simply because most Americans have jobs and face those same risks while on the clock—would significantly expand OSHA’s regulatory authority without clear congressional authorization.”

“A vaccination, after all, ‘cannot be undone at the end of the workday.'”

See the full SCOTUS opinion here.