Political | Process

Supreme Court fast-tracked two disputes over the Biden administration’s efforts to expand vaccinations. In an unusual move, the justices announced on Wednesday night that they will hear oral arguments on Jan. 7

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• The cases came to the court last week on an emergency basis, and the formal question in both disputes is whether the government should be allowed to enforce the policies while litigation challenging them continues.

• But the justices’ views on whether to grant emergency relief will likely be influenced by their views on the merits of the underlying challenges themselves.

• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the vaccine-or-test mandate on Nov. 5. It requires all employers with more than 100 employees to mandate that those employees be either fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly and wear masks at work.

• Several challenges to the rule were filed around the country, by (among others) business groups, religious groups, and Republican-led states, arguing that the mandate exceeds OSHA’s authority.

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit temporarily put the mandate on hold in November, but the challenges were consolidated in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which reinstated the mandate last week.

• The challengers went quickly to the Supreme Court, filing over a dozen separate requests asking the justices to block the 6th Circuit’s ruling.

• The justices on Wednesday night set two of those requests for oral argument – one filed by a group of trade associations and the other by a group of states, led by Ohio – on a highly expedited basis.

• The 6th Circuit’s ruling reviving the mandate will remain in force until the Supreme Court acts on the challengers’ request, although OSHA has indicated that it will not issue citations for failure to comply with the rule until Jan. 10 at the earliest.

SOURCE: SCOTUSBLOG