Lawsuits Threaten Workers During the Single Greatest Occupational Health Crisis in 100 Years
Washington, D.C. — Today, leading legal and public health experts joined Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room to explain why lawsuits against OSHA vaccine and testing rules are legally flawed and threaten the health of millions of workers. Earlier this month, partisan judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s rule, and the case will now proceed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals for further review and is expected to be ultimately decided by the Supreme Court.
During today’s call, experts explained why this lawsuit not only threatens the safety of American workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also OSHA’s ability to protect workers during future emergencies. Following the event, the Coronavirus War Room released new research on why the OSHA rules are essential for protecting workers, and why the legal challenges against these rules are reckless and legally dubious.
FACT SHEET: How The OSHA Vaccine Or Testing Requirement Protects Workers
EXPLAINER: Why The Lawsuit To Block The Osha Vaccine Or Test Standard Is Legally Flawed
“The COVID-19 pandemic is the most serious occupational hazard in 100 years. The OSHA standard is based on science and research, and it’s simply good practice,” said Bob Harrison, clinical professor of occupational medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. “There have been thousands of outbreaks among many different types of workplaces. We are not out of the woods in terms of public health and workplace risk, and as we head into the winter, more people are spending time indoors. Simply put, the OSHA rules are going to keep everyone protected at work.”
“This pandemic is nowhere near over. The virus is killing more than 1,000 people a day – at this rate, 400,000 more deaths in the next year. And COVID cases are starting to rise again across the country,” said David Michaels, epidemiologist and professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health and former Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. “To heal the economy, we need to make the nation’s workplaces safe. And to make workplaces safe, we urgently need an OSHA standard. If partisan judges block this OSHA standard, what truly remains unclear is how many more workers will go to their graves.”
“The Fifth Circuit’s opinion is deeply flawed and has no real legal import, as the case was almost certainly going to be transferred to another court, suggesting that the opinion was issued as a political statement, not a judicial act,” said David Vladeck, law professor at Georgetown University. “OSHA’s standard gives workers a choice of vaccination or testing to protect them from COVID-19 exposure and ensure safe and healthy working conditions.The court’s attacks on OSHA’s standard are nothing more than political posturing.”
“These lawsuits are a grave threat to the health and well-being of millions of workers across the country,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “It’s no surprise that these lawsuits seeking to overturn basic public health standards are supported by partisan politicians and extremist billionaires that put their self interest above keeping America safe. If we want to put an end to this pandemic, and protect working people, it’s time to support science and common sense public health measures, not use the courts to score political points.