The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has suspended enforcement of the Biden Administration’s Coronavirus Vaccine Mandate, which requires all companies with 100+ workers to be either fully vaccinated or subject to weekly testing and mask wearing while at work.

The mandate’s deadline to be fully vaccinated or implement weekly testing is January 4, but that is now subject to change. The Department of Labor, which oversees OSHA, has stated it is now waiting on further court orders.

This comes on the heels of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals‘ November 12 decision to uphold a previously decided pause on the mandate, noting the rule is “staggeringly overbroad” and citing “grave statutory and constitutional” concerns over the mandate. Some 85 million Americans are affected by this executive order. The Biden Administration must heed the winds of public opinion as it grapples with historical inflation & rising fuel prices heading into the Holiday Season, something no past administration would envy.

What’s next? Likely a trip to the United States Supreme Court. Multiple petitions have been filed in 11 of the 12 Circuit Courts of Appeal looking to block this mandate. Those petitions will be corralled and one appeals court will be chosen via a lottery system to lift, alter, or keep in place the 5th Circuit Court’s stay. However, based on that ruling, it is likely this will end up in the land’s highest court.