White House Tells Businesses To Ignore Court-Ordered Pause And Implement Vaccine Mandate

On Monday, the White House said that businesses should implement President Biden’s vaccine mandate, despite a federal appeals court ordering a temporary stop to the rules.

“People should not wait,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said after being asked if business owners should respect the court’s order. “They should continue to move forward and make sure they’re getting their workplace vaccinated.”

On Saturday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit stopped the mandate pending review, writing that “the petitions give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate.”

“In its response Monday evening, the Biden administration asked the court to lift the pause, dismissing the states’ and companies’ claims of harm as ‘premature’ given that the deadlines for vaccination and testing are not until January,” CNBC reported. “The administration claimed that pausing the requirements ‘would likely cost dozens or even hundreds of lives per day’ as the virus spreads. The Labor and Justice Departments also argued that OSHA acted within its authority as established by Congress.”

“The court-ordered pause came a day after the requirements went into effect, starting the countdown for businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure their staff have received the shots required for full vaccination by Jan. 4,” the outlet added. “After that date, unvaccinated workers must submit a negative Covid-19 test weekly to enter the workplace. All unvaccinated workers must start wearing face masks indoors at their workplaces starting Dec. 5.”

Biden’s mandate is expected to further cripple the U.S. economy as workers are fired or leave their jobs so they are not forced to receive the vaccine.

According to a late October survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, five percent of unvaccinated adults had left their job because their employer implemented a vaccine mandate. At the time, one-quarter of workers said that their employer required them to get vaccinated.