In the US, the federal appeals court has unblocked President Joe Biden’s application, which requires large companies to impose weekly tests and masks on their employees who do not have the Corona vaccine.
Republicans have filed a lawsuit against Biden’s decision, which covers 84 million American employees, which he plans to implement nationally by January 4, 2022. In the first case, a federal court ordered a stay of practice. But on Friday, December 17, that decision was reversed in a Cincinnati state appeals court, giving the green light again for Biden’s practice that would require many employees to be vaccinated.
After the decision of the federal appeals court, it is not yet clear when the rule will come into effect. However, in a statement made by the White House, it was stated that “especially at this time when America is faced with the highly contagious Omicron variant, we urgently need to take the next step in protecting workers and introducing vaccination.”
Republican state prosecutors and conservative groups announced that they are preparing to appeal the federal court’s decision yesterday to the Constitutional Court.
Along with 27 Republican-run states, many conservative groups and individuals argue that the administration has no such decision-making authority since November, when the Biden administration announced its practice of vaccinating employees.
Judge Joan Larsen, who voted against the decision in favor of the Democrats in federal court on Friday, is among the judges appointed by former Republican President Donald Trump.
Larsen argued that “it would not pose a great danger” for vaccinated employees to continue their work in the same environment with those who are not.
Under the new rules brought by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under the Biden administration, employers with more than 100 employees will require non-vaccinated employees to have weekly Corona virus tests and to wear masks in closed offices.
In a previous statement from OSHA, it was argued that the controversial rule would save the lives of 6,500 people, and that with the start of the application, 250 thousand people would be prevented from being hospitalized due to Corona virus infection in the first 6 months. Following yesterday’s court decision, the US Department of Labor, to which OSHA is affiliated, also emphasized that, thanks to the final decision of the court, OSHA can continue to “take prudent and science-based measures to keep workers safe and healthy during the deadly pandemic.”
In addition to the measures aimed at the private sector, the Biden administration’s efforts to increase the vaccination rate of contracted employees in federal government institutions and health centers are also causing a reaction from the Republicans.