Friday saw at least 26 states join or file lawsuits against President Joe Biden’s vaccination mandate.
A coalition of 11 states filed a joint filing stating that "this mandate is unconstitutional and unlawful"
On Thursday, the White House made public its intention to require vaccinations for large-company employees.
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On Friday, more than half of the US states joined or filed lawsuits against President Joe Biden’s mandate to immunize employees at large corporations.
Four petitions were signed by 26 states, which is perhaps the largest legal challenge to safety regulations for pandemic-era emergencies since Biden's election. Three Democrat-led States are among the 26.
Four federal appeals courts filed the lawsuits against Biden's demand that companies with over 100 employees require COVID-19 vaccinations or perform weekly testing.
Missouri and 10 other states filed a lawsuit against the US Court of Appeals for Eight Circuit claiming that the mandate was unconstitutional, illegal, and imprudent.
In the filing, the states stated that Biden's mandate would cause "injuries and hardship to working families", inflict economic disruption on the states and private employer, and place even greater strains upon struggling labor markets.
Officially, Biden's mandate was introduced on Thursday. It would affect approximately two-thirds of all private-sector workers. It will take effect on January 4.
Plaintiffs claim that the federal government does not have the constitutional authority necessary to enact a vaccine mandate. They also claim that OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) does not have the statutory authority necessary to enforce it. They argue that the issue should be left up to the states to resolve.
Kansas Governor said that "States have been leading against COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic." Laura Kelly was one of the many Democratic leaders who joined the suits. "It's too late to impose federal standards now that we have developed strategies and systems that are specifically tailored to our needs."
Biden's requirements were "shoe-horned into" workplace safety statutes in at least one case.
Friday's characterization was rejected by the White House, which stated that it wanted to make "crystal clear” that the requirement was a workplace safety measure and not a mandate for vaccines.
In a briefing, Karine Jean-Pierre, principal deputy Press Secretary, stated that "that would be, on it's face, incorrect." It is a standard that a safe workplace must either adhere to weekly testing or be vaccinated, as it has been for many months.
Missouri was joined by Arizona, Nebraska and Montana in its Eighth Circuit petition.
Kentucky joined Idaho, Kansas and Oklahoma in filing with the Sixth Circuit.
Texas joined Louisiana, South Carolina and Utah in filing a petition to the Fifth Circuit.
Georgia joined Florida and Alabama in filing for the Eleventh Circuit.
Last week, at least two additional lawsuits were filed against the Biden administration's vaccination requirements. On Thursday, Mississippi joined an independent lawsuit along with Indiana and Louisiana. Florida filed a single complaint at the US District Court in Tampa after it had previously announced its intention to sue.
Florida Governor said, "We started with 15 days to slow down the spread, and now it's, "Get jabbed, or lose your job,"" Ron DeSantis stated in a press conference that OSHA requirements were "500 pages" of government bureaucracy.
