Private Employers Challenge President Biden’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

In the summer of 2021, the Biden administration made it clear that a national vaccine mandate was “not the role of the federal government.” But just weeks later, it went back on its word.

On September 9, President Biden announced that he would direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a subset of the Department of Labor, to create a new “workplace safety” rule. The rule would compel employers with 100 or more employees to require all employees to be vaccinated or be tested for COVID-19 weekly.

The White House all but admitted that OSHA’s mandate is an attempt to skirt the law. Biden’s Chief of Staff even retweeted a claim that it offers “the ultimate workaround for the federal government to require vaccinations.”

This blatant exploitation of federal law is an attempt to force employers, even private and religious employers, to submit to medical procedures just because they have a job. It’s an overreach of power that should concern everyone, regardless of your stance on the COVID-19 vaccines.

On November 4, OSHA released the rule demanded by President Biden, affecting 80 million Americans. Maybe even you and your loved ones.

OSHA has no authority under the Constitution or federal law to issue this mandate. That is why, Alliance Defending Freedom and Dhillon Law Group are representing The Daily Wire and filing a lawsuit against the Biden administration.

The Daily Wire v. Occupational Safety and Health Administration

You have probably heard of The Daily Wire, a news website and media company which produces content from commentators like Ben Shapiro, Candace Owens, and Matt Walsh.

Some employees at The Daily Wire have received the vaccine—some haven’t. Some of these employees have natural immunity due to having already contracted COVID-19. Some have chosen not to get the vaccine because they have autoimmune diseases or have struggled with allergic reactions to vaccines. Some employees even have religious or personal beliefs that prevent them from getting vaccinated.

The Daily Wire understands that there is no one-size-fits-all scenario; there is diversity among us all and Americans should be free to direct their own medical decisions. In fact, existing federal law requires The Daily Wire to respect their employees’ freedoms.

But now, OSHA is effectively trying to force The Daily Wire to violate their employees’ freedom; they cannot and will not do that.

By mandating private employers to force their employees to make certain medical decisions, the Biden administration is stepping far past its lawful authority.

The federal executive branch simply has no authority to tell private businesses and nonprofits that they must force their employees to be vaccinated or submit to costly weekly testing. That’s why ADF is standing with The Daily Wire against government overreach.

State of Missouri v. Biden

Bishop O’Gorman Catholic Schools ( BOGCS) is a consolidated school system consisting of eight Catholic schools in the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Its mission is to form a community of faith and learning by promoting a Catholic way of life through Gospel values and academic excellence. But OSHA’s vaccine mandate violates the First Amendment rights of BOGCS and invades the autonomy of this religious organization by telling BOGCS who they can and can’t hire.

BOGCS understands that there are people of good faith who choose to take a COVID-19 vaccine. There are also people of good faith who choose not to. All the school is asking for is the freedom they’ve always had—to make their own employment decisions and respect the various views of faithful Catholics in their midst.

Additionally, Christian Employers Alliance (CEA) has joined this lawsuit. CEA’s mission is to unite, equip, and represent Christian-owned businesses, to protect religious freedom, and to provide the opportunity for employees, businesses, and communities to flourish.

CEA’s Members are committed to treating their employees with dignity, including refraining from engaging in improper coercion of their consciences. Therefore, CEA is taking a stand and representing the interests of its members against actions such as OSHA’s unlawful vaccine mandate.

The Home School Legal Defense Association also joins BOGCS and CEA in their lawsuit, a Christian nonprofit organization that seeks to defend the rights of parents to make educational choices for their children.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing these clients filed a petition Friday, November 5 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit and also intend to ask the court to suspend enforcement of the mandate.

State of Florida v. Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Cambridge Christian School is an evangelical Christian school in Tampa, Florida, serving Christ through excellence in academics, athletics, and fine arts. Cambridge has a vision to develop defenders of the faith by partnering with parents so generations will know God, obey His Word, and serve Him. And in West Palm Beach, Florida, The King’s Academy (TKA) is on a mission to share salvation through Jesus Christ by developing Christian leaders who seek to impact the world through academic excellence and spiritual vitality.

But OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private employers, which includes Cambridge Christian School and TKA, violates the First Amendment rights of these schools to make employment decisions without government interference.

These organizations do not discriminate against their employees for legitimate health decisions or disability status -- but OSHA's mandate requires them to do just that: single out their employees based on their personal medical choice.

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) v. Occupational Safety and Health Administration

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, located in Louisville, Kentucky, is the oldest seminary affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). With over 5,000 students currently enrolled, SBTS is one of the most highly esteemed seminaries in the state, boasting many notable alumni including Albert Mohler (its current president).

Like other religious schools and organizations, the Biden administration’s mandate attempts to force SBTS to discriminate against their own employees.

By requiring that religious employers enforce an unlawful mandate, the federal government is imposing crushing and expensive administrative burden on religious employers while imposing substantial burdens on religious freedom. And SBTS will not sit back and let this happen.

Nearly every organization in America has employees who have received the COVID-19 vaccine and others who have not.

ADF attorneys filed a petition Friday, November 5 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit to challenge the Biden administration private employer vaccine mandate and will also ask the court to halt enforcement of the mandate while the litigation moves forward.

When OSHA attempts to fit employees into a one-size-fits-all program, OSHA forces employers to violate employees' consciences.

Do you want to help challenge the national vaccine employer mandate?