OSHA, like all federal agencies, was created and given power by Congress and signed by Nixon.
Three decades ago Congress enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to help protect the Nation's workers on the job, following a 3-year struggle. By Judson MacLaury
www.dol.gov
Federal agencies create administrative law by a process called rulemaking, This a a longer process requiring studies, proposed rulemaking, a public comment period, etc. Once published in the Federal Register the rule has the force of law. The entire green book of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations is an example of this rulemaking process into law.
Under certain circumstances, an agency may issue an Emergency Temporary Standard which is what OSHA did in regards to the vaccine or test+mask mandate. The question before the Supreme Court now is whether OSHA exceeded its authority and scope under the 1970 law in issuing the ETS and whether it should have gone the more cumbersome rulemaking route (Note the issue is not the constitutionality or any conspiracy theory 'Nuremberg code" being floated by more Questionable characters.). If the Court says it did, OSHA could go that route, or OSHA could issue a new ETS requiring more stringent PPE use and testing, OSHA or other agencies could use a patchwork of rules and authority to require most American workers to be vaccinated in a more targeted fashion (such as the USDA could require meatpackers to be vaccinated), Congress could also widen the scope and more specifically and clearly authorize such powers in the 1970 law.. Even if it fails there, Cal-OSHA could still enforce their own mandate as they have a carve-out in the 1970 law, The SCOTUS could just take their sweet time issuing a ruling, allowing the mandate to have its effect while restricting Executive power later. I'm leaning towards that route given that they declined to issue a stay and have refused to block other mask and vaccine mandates. Court watchers feel the comments made by the Justices signal they may strike it down. A decision could come any day, in a week or two, or they could wait until May/June when they issue most decisions from a term.
The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Friday in two sets of challenges to the Biden administration’s authority to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. For over two hours of debate, the justices were skeptical of the administration’s attempt to impose a vaccine-or-test mandate for workers at large employ
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Sean Marotta, a partner at Hogan Lovells and an expert on the legal challenges to Biden vaccine policies, joins us to dissect Friday’s remarkable oral arguments. If you have questions about the court, the justices, or an upcoming case, please email us at
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