After months of court battles, enforcement of the vaccine rule was stopped once more
A US appeals court has agreed to delay the White House’s vaccine mandate for federal workers, putting the requirement on pause temporarily after a previous ruling said it could go ahead.
New Orleans’ 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals made an order Monday to halt the enforcement of vaccine requirements. The matter has been in dispute for years and bounced around from one judge to another in a prolonged legal battle. Although the previous April decision lifted the ban, this latest ruling states that it will remain in effect while the case is heard by the court.
A January injunction was issued by Jeffrey Brown (US District Judge), which required federal employees to receive Covid-19 vaccinations. But a second panel of judges later ruled that Brown did indeed lack proper jurisdiction. Those who challenged the mandate had still other options.
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The same panel has now agreed to reconsider that ruling, however, saying it will allow the court’s 17 judges to review the issue before a final decision is made. The rule was set to come back into effect on May 31, though it’s unclear to what extent it was enforced in the time since.
President Joe Biden imposed the mandate for federal workers last September, prompting a flurry of litigation challenging the move before January’s injunction. The Supreme Court rejected a separate rule which would have required American businesses with more than 100 employees to get vaccinations. However, the White House urged companies to continue to implement the measure.
