WASHINGTON (AP), The Supreme Court has announced that it will hold a special session within two weeks to consider challenges to two Biden administration policies. These policies cover vaccine requirements for millions workers. They also affect large employers and workers in the health care sector.
The announcement by the high court Wednesday that it will hear arguments Jan. 7 is a result of rising coronavirus cases. It also comes amid an extremely fast timeline. The court was not scheduled to hear any cases until Jan. 10.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati had a panel consisting of three judges. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled 2-1 Friday that the testing or vaccine regime for larger workers could be implemented. Workers at larger companies will need to get vaccinated, or wear masks and be tested every week. This requirement could impact approximately 84 million U.S. employees.
After the Occupational Safety and Health Administration published its rule in November, Republican-led states, conservative groups and businesses challenged it. The rule was set to take effect January 4.
High court will also hear arguments about a Nov. 5 rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid. It applies to a wide variety of health care providers who receive federal Medicare and Medicaid funding. Their workers must receive their first COVID-19 vaccine dose by Dec. 6, and then be fully vaccinated by January 4. It is expected to affect over 17 million people in approximately 76,000 health care facilities and home health care providers.
The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and St. Louis-based Eighth U.S. The mandate has been blocked in half of the states, including Texas' Circuit Court of Appeals and a federal judge.
After the court had announced that it would hear arguments Wednesday evening, the White House made a statement defending its policies. It stated that, especially in light of the coronavirus's omicron variant rise, "it is crucial to protect workers with vaccine requirements and testing protocols that require immediate attention."
The statement stated that "We are confident in both the legal authority for these policies and (the Justice Department will vigorously defend them both at the Supreme Court."
It was unusual for the high court to hold fast arguments on the requirements. Both of the issues were brought to the court on an urgent basis. The court will usually decide emergency applications quickly without any formal briefing.
However, the court has been criticised recently for its handling of the process. This has been called the court’s "shadow docket." Justice Samuel Alito responded in September to that criticism, claiming it was unwarranted.
In a statement earlier this year, the Supreme Court stated that all justices had been immunized. The court is closed to the public due to the coronavirus. The court is closed to the public for lawyers arguing cases. Journalists who are observing arguments also need to have a negative test.
There are also challenges in lower courts to the Biden administration’s requirement that federal contractors get COVID-19 vaccines.
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