Monday | November 8th, 2021

It’s Monday, November 8th, and this is your Morning Wire. Listen to the full podcast:

1) Federal Court Blocks OSHA Mandate

The Topline: On Saturday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay, blocking the Biden’s administration’s mandate from OSHA that forces all private employers with 100 or more workers to require them to be vaccinated for COVID or be tested weekly.

Quote Of The Day: “But what is a little surprising is how quickly the fifth circuit moved here. The mandate doesn’t go into effect for about two months, but the court stayed it in a matter of two days, that probably doesn’t bode well for this.”

– The Daily Wire’s general counsel Josh Herr

Samuel Corum/Stringer/Getty Images

OSHA Rule

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandate has been in the works since President Joe Biden’s announcement two months ago. On Thursday, that rule was finally issued — and it was even more punitive than initially expected. If a company fails to enforce the vaccine mandate, the government will fine them $13,000 per occurrence. If OSHA labels a company to be an “egregious” or a repeat violator, it can fine the company $136,000 for every occurrence. 

Remember: This would be for every employee every time they’re found to be in violation. 

Update

On Saturday, a panel of judges in the fifth circuit granted a temporary stay of the rule. The case was filed by the state of Mississippi and a number of private businesses. The court ruled there are potentially “grave, statutory, and constitutional issues with the mandate.” The government has until 5:00 PM Monday to respond. 

The case in the fifth circuit focuses on constitutional and statutory arguments, namely that the enforcement of the mandate would be unconstitutional, and that it goes beyond the power Congress delegated to OSHA. 

This happened after several entities — including the Daily Wire and several religious groups — filed lawsuits last week. The attorneys general in those states celebrated this as a major win against what they called “unconstitutional overreach.” 

Biden Administration Responds

The Chief Legal Officer for the Department of Labor, Seema Nanda, said OSHA has the authority to issue this kind of sweeping mandate. She cited the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which she says, “explicitly gives OSHA the authority to act quickly in an emergency where the agency finds that workers are subjected to

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