Fate of Biden administration's vaccine mandate for employers now at conservative-leaning appeals court

The Biden administration's vaccine mandate targeting businesses with more than 100 employees is now before the conservative-leaning Ohio-based 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which could soon decide its fate.

Late Wednesday, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which has blocked the mandate, transferred its case to the 6th Circuit, where 34 challenges filed nationwide will be consolidated after that court was picked through a lottery on Tuesday. The Justice Department is expected to file a motion with the 6th Circuit to try to vacate the order blocking the mandate.

In the meantime, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which falls under the US Labor Department, is complying with a directive from the 5th Circuit panel, according to a statement on its website. The agency is no longer reaching out to large private companies to help them comply with the emergency rule that mandates vaccinations or weekly testing for employees and is instead waiting for the court to make a decision.

The mandate represents President Joe Biden's most controversial push to date to ensure that as many Americans as possible are vaccinated against Covid-19, especially after the emergence of the highly transmissible Delta strain of the virus. Eighty-four million workers at large employers would be covered by the rules implemented by OSHA.