OSHA withdraws Biden’s vaccine mandate for large businesses

In a press release on OSHA's website, they stated that the withdrawal of the emergency temporary standard (ETS) would come into effect on Jan. 26.

"Although OSHA is withdrawing the vaccination and testing ETS as an enforceable emergency temporary standard, the agency is not withdrawing the ETS as a proposed rule. The agency is prioritizing its resources to focus on finalizing a permanent COVID-19 Healthcare Standard," the press release states.

"OSHA strongly encourages vaccination of workers against the continuing dangers posed by COVID-19 in the workplace," it continues.

The agency added that it's "prioritizing its resources to focus on finalizing a permanent COVID-19 Healthcare Standard," according to Axios.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration's vaccine mandate requiring businesses with 100 or more employees to have their employees get vaccinated or be subjected to weekly COVID-19 testing.

The mandate would have impacted more than 80 million Americans workers.

"OSHA has never before imposed such a mandate. Nor has Congress," wrote the conservative justices in an unsigned opinion. "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."

OSHA does not have the power to "regulate public health more broadly," the court said. "Requiring the vaccination of 84 million Americans, selected simply because they work for employers with more than 100 employees, certainly falls in the latter category."

In the weeks since the Supreme Court's ruling, a number of popular businesses have rescinded their vaccine mandates, including Starbucks and General Electric.