Advocacy

Legislative advocacy for the roadway safety industry

ATSSA’s Government Relations Team is here to help the roadway safety industry educate decision-makers on the state and federal level, to advocate for roadway safety infrastructure policies and funding. Learn more about ATSSA’s grassroots advocacy to advance policies that move us Toward Zero Deaths on our nation’s roadways and how you can get involved.


Cutting the gas tax is a COST we can't afford. Learn more now.


Get Involved

GET INVOLVED

Join us in promoting state and
federal level policies that make
our roads safer.

Political Action Committee

POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE

The PAC provides support to policy makers on Capitol Hill that support roadway safety.

Federal Advocacy

FEDERAL

Passionately advocating for
roadway safety infrastructure on
Capitol Hill.

ATSSA FlyIn

ATSSA FLY-IN

Bringing together ATSSA members from across the country in a united voice for roadway safety.

State Advocacy

STATE

Connecting ATSSA chapters with
state-level grass roots efforts
across the country.

Toward Zero Deaths

TOWARD ZERO DEATHS

TZD is a national strategy on highway safety that advocates for eliminating injury & death on roadways.

Advocacy news & blogs

Pam
/ Categories: Government, Policy

Supreme Court blocks vaccine mandate for large employers

The Supreme Court today issued a ruling blocking a Biden administration effort to require employees of large employers to get a COVID-19 vaccine or undergo weekly testing and wear a mask.

The court, however, allowed a vaccine mandate for most U.S. health care workers.

The court ruled 6-3 in the employer case.

The court’s conservative majority concluded the administration overstepped its authority by seeking to impose the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s vaccine-or-test rule on U.S. businesses with at least 100 employees, the Associated Press reported. More than 80 million people would have been affected.

“OSHA has never before imposed such a mandate. Nor has Congress. Indeed, although Congress has enacted significant legislation addressing the COVID–19 pandemic, it has declined to enact any measure similar to what OSHA has promulgated here,” the conservatives wrote in an unsigned opinion.

The court’s three liberals argued that it was the court that was overreaching by substituting its judgments for health experts, according to the AP report.

The Supreme Court ruling is a temporary measure while other cases proceed. However, the court wrote that “the applicants are likely to prevail” and therefore granted emergency relief from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule regarding vaccines for large employers.

“Many States, businesses, and nonprofit organizations challenged OSHA’s rule in Courts of Appeals across the country. The Fifth Circuit initially entered a stay. But when the cases were consolidated before the Sixth Circuit, that court lifted the stay and allowed OSHA’s rule to take effect,” the ruling states. “Applicants now seek emergency relief from this Court, arguing that OSHA’s mandate exceeds its statutory authority and is otherwise unlawful. Agreeing that applicants are likely to prevail, we grant their applications and stay the rule.”

The court reviewed OSHA’s role as protecting employees from work-related dangers and said COVID-19 does not fall into that category but is a day-to-day danger that everyone faces such as from crime, air pollution or other communicable diseases.

“Permitting OSHA to regulate the hazards of daily life—simply because most Americans have jobs and face those same risks while on the clock—would significantly expand OSHA’s regulatory authority without clear congressional authorization,” the majority wrote in the ruling.

Previous Article OSHA releases update regarding COVID-19 vaccine mandate
Next Article OSHA withdraws vaccine and testing mandate, effective Jan. 26
Print
5847 Rate this article:
No rating
Please login or register to post comments.