The Natural Products Association (NPA) on Dec. 7, 2021 asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to uphold a stay for the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccination and testing rule. Previously, NPA petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals to declare the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate unlawful, warning that it will have an immediate adverse impact on employers, including those in the natural products industry.
According to Reuters, however, a U.S. appeals court on Friday, Dec. 17, reinstated a nationwide vaccine-or-testing COVID-19 mandate for large businesses, which covers 80 million American workers, prompting opponents to rush to the Supreme Court to ask it to intervene.
The ruling coincides with public health officials bracing for a “tidal wave” of coronavirus infections in the United States as the more transmissible Omicron variant spreads rapidly worldwide. Within hours of the ruling, at least three petitions were filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to immediately block the mandate.
Friday’s ruling was 2-1 with Judges Jane Stranch, appointed by President Barack Obama, and Julia Gibbons, appointed by President George W. Bush, in the majority. Judge Joan Larsen, appointed by President Donald Trump, dissented.
“Our members are looking at a mass exodus of employees right around the holiday season if the stay is lifted,” said Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., president and CEO of NPA. “Since filing our initial petition, we have heard only more concerns from our members about how this rule will impact their bottom lines and ability to effectively meet demand for natural products that millions of Americans rely on.”
The Emergency Temporary Standard for Covid-19 Vaccination and Testing (“ETS”) issued by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) requires all employers with more than 100 employees to mandate that their workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or to require weekly testing and masking of unvaccinated employees.
The rule set a Jan. 4 deadline for compliance, although it was unclear if that will be enforced because the rule was blocked for weeks.
For more information, visit www.npanational.org.
