Pirate's Cove

Once again, I whole-heartedly recommend getting vaccinate. I have, and I got the booster, and I have a reminder to check on getting another booster in April. I prefer to be protected, and, if I get it, know it will most likely be mild. Others can make their own f’ing decisions

Vaccine mandates: The ‘big question’ at the heart of a Supreme Court challenge

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled on Friday to hear oral arguments on emergency applications for and against the Biden administration’s right to enforce two vaccine mandates that impact roughly 100 million U.S. workers, and that, for now, remain in legal limbo.

The in-person arguments, rarely granted to handle emergency applications, will address a narrow issue: whether the states and business groups seeking to invalidate the mandates as unconstitutional can keep them from being carried out until courts determine the legality of the mandates themselves.

“The big question in both cases is whether the federal government has the authority to impose such a sweeping requirement, whether the government followed the appropriate due process procedure, and whether the government overreached by imposing rules that are going to strain businesses already struggling with major staffing shortages,” Harry Nelson, founder and managing partner of health care law firm Nelson Hardiman, said about the broader constitutional issue. (snip)

The administration’s authority to direct private business to require vaccination policies has been mired in litigation brought by Republican-led states, as well as business groups. Court orders in those cases, some allowing and some denying enforcement during their pendency, have shown enough inconsistency to get the high court’s attention.

The mandates’ challengers say that in directing OSHA and CMS to adopt vaccination requirements, the Biden administration overstepped its executive authority. Congress never delegated that power to the executive branch, they argue.

Has the Legislative branch been granted the power to pass a law which would allow vaccine mandates, and did Congress pass a law on any Constitutional authority that grants the Executive branch the power to implement mandates? I’m betting one question will be on why it’s only on companies with 100+ employees.

I guess we will see.