(Washington) A US federal court on Friday upheld the suspension of a vaccine requirement for employees of large corporations, something the Biden administration wants.
The three New Orleans Court of Appeals judges declared that the vaccination obligation “significantly exceeds” the administration’s authority.
This decision follows a similar ruling issued last week that halted the procedure.
This aims to force tens of millions of employees of companies with more than 100 people to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by January 4, at the risk of undergoing very regular testing.
An obligation that, according to the administration, concerns more than two-thirds of the country’s workforce, which the court criticized as “staggering and too broad”.
According to the court’s decision, which did not decide on the merits, this measure may not be in accordance with the Constitution.
It “threatens to seriously infringe upon the freedom of the beneficiaries […] “They hesitate to choose between their job and their language,” said Judge Kurt de Engelhardt.
“From economic uncertainty to workplace struggles, the mere specter of this commitment has contributed to countless economic turmoil in recent months,” he added.
Several states have taken to court — Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Utah and Mississippi — as well as numerous corporations and religious groups.
Even if it’s just a comment at this point, it remains a major test for Democratic President Joe Biden, who just scored his first major legislative victory as Congress on Friday passed the infrastructure investment plan.
And Joe Biden commented in a statement issued Thursday that “vaccination is the best way out of this epidemic,” stressing that he “would have preferred to evade this obligation.” “A lot of people remain unvaccinated until we can leave them for good,” he said.
The suspended text leaves it up to the employer to take action it deems appropriate, including disciplinary action, against those who resist the vaccine and regular testing. According to this provision, companies that fail to fulfill the obligation face a fine of between $13,000 and $136,000.
But in the country of individual liberties, this American version of the health passport is causing an uproar in the Republican opposition denouncing “dictatorship”.
As of mid-November, about 68% of the US population, and 81% of adults, had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
