By Brandon Moseley
The Alabama Center for Law and Liberty (ACLL) has asked the United States Supreme Court to stay President Joe Biden’s (D) mandate that all employers with more than a hundred employees require the COVID-19 vaccine.
ACLL filed the order on behalf of FabArc Steel Supply, Inc., an Alabama company whose President, Tony Pugh, has religious objections to forcing his employees to submit to the vaccine mandate.
Read the filing with the Supreme Court here.
Matt Clark is the President of the ACLL.
“Demanding that business owners implement the vaccine mandate between now and January 10 sounds like a political twist on 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas,'” Clark said in a statement. “Implementing this mandate will take more than just several weeks, especially when many employees are taking off for the holidays.”
On November 5, OSHA released an emergency temporary standard (ETS), which it had done only nine other times in its existence and had not done successfully for about 30 years. OSHA is ordering all companies with 100 employees or more to vaccinate their employees or submit them to weekly testing.
“There is no question that OSHA exceeded its lawful authority and that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 protects FabArc and Pugh’s rights to say no,” Clark continued. “We believe the Court will at least stay the mandate, and we hope that it will do so by December 24.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed the mandate before the case was transferred to the Sixth Circuit. On December 17, the Sixth Circuit voted to lift the stay. OSHA then announced that it expects employers to comply with the mandate by January 10 (but that it would give some businesses until February 9 to comply with the testing component of the mandate).
FabArc and Pugh have asked the Supreme Court to step in and put the mandate on hold. The application specifically asked for an administrative stay by December 24 so that the people affected by the mandate could enjoy the holidays with their families instead of scrambling to comply with the January 10 deadline.
It also asked the Court to stay the mandate while the Sixth Circuit and the Supreme Court considered whether it is legal.
The ACLL also asked the Supreme Court to take the entire case now rather than waiting for the Sixth Circuit to make a decision.
On Tuesday the President addressed the nation about the COVID-19 crisis and the new omicron variant. He unveiled his new Winter Action Plan that includes an emphasis on COVID-19 vaccinations.
ACLL is a conservative nonprofit legal organization based in Birmingham, Alabama, and it is the litigation arm of the Alabama Policy Institute. For more information, visit ACLL’s website at www.alabamalawandliberty.org.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandon.moseley@1819News.com.
