by Eric Lendrum
Multiple trucking and retail groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the Biden Administration, seeking to block implementation of the federal vaccine mandate, as reported by Breitbart.
The lawsuit, filed with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, is led by multiple organizations, including “the National Retail Federation, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the American Trucking Associations.” The suit specifically targets the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the primary federal agency that has been tasked by Biden to carry out the many sweeping vaccine mandates.
“This is not a case about the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, which are a marvel of modern medicine,” the lawsuit notes. “This is a case about American businesses that do not want to face the immediate irreparable harm of losing employees, incurring substantial and unrecoverable compliance costs, and worsening already fragile supply chains and labor markets.”
The controversial mandate, which orders that all businesses with 100 employees or more mandate vaccinations or else face fines and other forms of retaliation, has already contributed to a worsening supply chain crisis brought about by a labor shortage.
A coalition of 95 trade groups sent a letter to Biden on behalf of the trucking industry, warning that if the vaccine mandate is enforced, it could lead to the firing or resignations of 37 percent of drivers. This additional blow to the industry would come at a time when the nation is already short of approximately 80,000 drivers, which has led to a dramatic slowdown in the transportation of goods across the country, a problem that is further exacerbated by the coming holiday season
On Tuesday, President Matthew Shay of the National Retail Federation described the mandate’s January 4th deadline as “unworkable and virtually impossible.”
“We have consistently and repeatedly communicated our concerns about the practical challenges of meeting those arbitrary targets,” Shay continued. “However, it appears that our only remaining course of action is to petition for judicial relief.”
Other groups that signed onto the lawsuit include “the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, the International Warehouse and Logistics Association, the International Foodservices Distributors Association, and National Association of Convenience Stores,” as well as “the state trucking associations in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana,” according to the Breitbart report.
Multiple similar large-scale lawsuits have been filed against the other variations of Biden’s vaccine mandate; one lawsuit filed by ten states challenges the nationwide mandate for healthcare workers, while at least 26 states have sued, in some capacity, to block the broader OSHA mandate for private companies. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has already granted an emergency stay in one such lawsuit that temporarily halts the 100-employee mandate, and may ultimately decide to issue a permanent injunction in the near future.
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Eric Lendrum reports for American Greatness.
Photo “Vaccine” by U.S. Navy CC BY 2.0.
