WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 13, 2022) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) applauds today’s decision from the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a stay of OSHA’s vaccine mandate, which requires businesses with 100 or more employees to have employees vaccinated or undergo weekly testing.

“Today’s decision is welcome relief for America’s small businesses, who are still trying to get their business back on track since the beginning of the pandemic,” said Karen Harned, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “As small businesses try to recover after almost two years of significant business disruptions, the last thing they need is a mandate that would cause more business challenges. We are pleased the Supreme Court stopped the rule from taking effect while the courts consider whether or not it is legal. We are optimistic that the courts will ultimately agree with us that OSHA does not have the emergency authority to regulate the entire American workforce.”

NFIB originally filed a legal challenge against the mandate in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the ETS is unconstitutional and requested a stay of the mandate. After the Sixth Circuit lifted the stay, NFIB filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting an immediate stay of OSHA’s emergency temporary standard.

NFIB’s legal challenge argues three main points:

1. OSHA needed to use the typical notice-and-comment procedure for the mandate to gather input.

2. A nationwide COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandate, monitoring, and database is fundamentally a policy decision that should be left to Congress.

3. The mandate will result in unrecoverable compliance costs, lost profits, lost sales, and further exacerbate the labor shortage for small businesses.

The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently involved in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.