SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 17, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes and 23 other attorneys general have sent a letter to President Joe Biden warning that litigation will follow the implementation of a proposed vaccine mandate for all federal workers.
On Sept. 9, Biden signed a pair of executive orders requiring all federal workers, contractors and healthcare workers employed by institutions that accept Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement to get vaccinated. Those affected by the mandate won’t have the ability to opt out by subjecting to frequent testing.
Reyes is on the leadership team among the coalition of attorneys general, said a news release from his office. The group outlined their legal and policy concerns with the mandate, which will be carried out through an Occupational Safety and Health Act emergency temporary standard.
“I am committed to continuing leading with my colleagues to push back and fight this mandate all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary,” Reyes said. “Both employers and employees in Utah, with unprecedented fervor, have flooded my office with messages of dire concern and extreme opposition to the proposed mandate. I firmly agree.”
He added: “We call on President Biden to withdraw his proposed standards. Forcing them on the business community will be disastrous from a legal, policy, and financial standpoint and it will further divide America.”
The letter states: “The risks of COVID-19 spread also vary widely depending on the nature of the business in question, many of which can have their employees, for example, work remotely.
“The one-size-fits-almost-all approach you have decreed makes clear that you intend to use the OSHA statute as a pretext to impose an unprecedented, controversial public health measure on a nationwide basis that only incidentally concerns the workplace.”
Utah was joined on the letter by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Read the full letter here.
