Soon after the order came down, those challenging the mandate said that they’d turn to the Supreme Court to put it on hold.
The decision in favor of employer mandate, from the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals, came after a separate appeals court on Friday declined a Justice Department request that it reinstate the administration’s federal contractor mandate, which had been blocked nationwide by a federal judge earlier this month.
The 6th Circuit decision allowing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to implement the administration’s rules for large employers is a rare victory for President Joe Biden in what has been an uphill battle in conservative-leaning courts that have been hostile to his administration’s approach to requiring vaccines.
A fight headed to the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is expected to have the final say on the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate, with the cases raising questions about the federal government’s ability to require vaccines as well as claims that the Biden administration violated administrative law in how it rolled out the policies.
The justices gave those challenging the mandate a December 30 deadline for responding to the DOJ request to reinstate it.
This story has been updated with additional details Friday.