The Vaccination Mandate, the Congressional Statutory Framework, and Presidential Action

Although I agree with Greg Weiner’s post in his general point about congressional legislation that is too sweeping in its general point, I don’t think the point applies here. After all, the Fifth Circuit found sufficient distance between OSHA and the vaccination mandate that it put a stay on the Mandate, pending further action by the Court. Of course, the Court could end up allowing the mandate to continue. But, as Weiner notes, there is a significant difference between OSHA’S provision for standards relating to toxic chemicals, “substances or agents that are deemed to be toxic or physically harmful or … Continue reading The Vaccination Mandate, the Congressional Statutory Framework, and Presidential Action

The Vaccination Order, Executive Overreach and Legislative Abdication

The Fifth Circuit has correctly noted that President Biden’s executive order invoking the Occupational Safety and Health Act to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for large employers raises “grave constitutional and statutory issues.” Biden’s application of the Act’s provision for “emergency temporary standards”–which pertains to exposure to “substances or agents that are deemed to be toxic or physically harmful or from new hazards”–to COVID-19 is a stretch. The Act’s references to substances generally refer to toxic chemicals, while its uses of “agents” almost always deal with “physical agents” such as excessive noise. “Hazards,” meanwhile, are workplace dangers like equipment that could injure … Continue reading The Vaccination Order, Executive Overreach and Legislative Abdication