Job Creators Network Sues OSHA Over Vaccine Mandate!

(CNS News) — One of the nation’s leading small business advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate last Thursday, citing an unnecessary exacerbation of the worst labor shortage the U.S. has experienced in decades.

The Job Creators Network (JCN) is suing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for their emergency temporary standard requiring all businesses with 100 or more employees to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations and enforce the regular mask-wearing and testing of unvaccinated employees.

JCN’s President and CEO Alfredo Ortiz said in a press release that OSHA does not have the authority, nor a big enough threat posed by COVID-19, to create or enforce such a mandate.

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“The Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate is clearly illegal and will have a devastating impact on our small business community and our entire economy,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz also cited the current labor shortage as a reason the mandate will only hurt the economy.

In October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported there were 10.4 million job openings in the United States, meaning that many businesses are struggling to fill positions.

“The Administration’s mandate will exacerbate the worst labor shortage in recorded history by requiring small business owners to terminate some employees who wish not to get vaccinated while also shrinking the pool of job applicants available for hiring,” Ortiz noted.

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Along with shrinking the labor market, this mandate will create costs for businesses and employees alike.

According to the mandate, businesses are required to provide paid time off for employees to get vaccinated during work. But employees who choose not to get the vaccine have to pay out-of-pocket for required weekly testing.

“The agency does not believe it appropriate to impose the costs of testing on an employer where the employee has made an individual choice to pursue a less protective option,” the mandate reads.

OSHA cited U.S. Code 655 (c)(1) as their authority to enforce this mandate. According to the code, OSHA is allowed to create emergency temporary standards to prevent employees from substances that can pose a “grave danger.”

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However, only 1.6% of COVID-19 cases result in death in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University.

According to the mandate, businesses that do not comply or enforce this regulation will be fined over $13,000 and up to $136,532, reported The Hill.

Alongside JCN, several other organizations and more than a dozen states have sued the Biden administration, believing the requirement to be unconstitutional. #DoNotComply, a catchphrase coined by the Daily Wire, is trending on Twitter.

The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the mandate from going into effect in an opinion issued Saturday, citing “grave statutory and constitutional issues with the mandate.”

Despite this, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain told The Wall Street Journal that the Biden administration had the utmost confidence in OSHA’s authority to issue the mandate.

“It’s common sense,” Klain said. “If OSHA can tell people to wear a hard hat on the job, to be careful with chemicals, it can put in place these simple measures to keep our workers safe.”