The Biden administration is ignoring an appeals court order pausing vaccine mandates in companies with more than 100 employees.
The White House on Monday told businesses to proceed with the vaccine mandates despite the court-ordered stay, CNBC reports.
“People should not wait. They should continue to move forward and make sure they’re getting their workplace vaccinated,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
On Saturday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay of the mandates, citing “grave statutory and constitutional” issues with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s new guidelines.
The Biden administration had until Monday, Nov. 8, to file a response to the federal court’s stay.
In its response Monday evening, the Biden administration asked the court to lift the pause and dismiss the companies’ objections as “premature” given that the deadlines for vaccination and testing are not until January.
The Biden administration claimed that pausing the vaccine mandates “would likely cost dozens or even hundreds of lives per day.”
25 Republican governors rushed to file petitions last week to block the mandates in their states after OSHA published its guidelines for private companies that do business with the federal government.
Companies with 100 or more employees must require Covid-19 mRNA vaccinations or weekly testing at the employee’s expense.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on the constitutionality of OSHA’s requirements.