JCN Responds to DOJ Brief Opposing Expeditious Review of Biden Administration's Vaccine Mandate

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Job Creators Network (JCN) filed a response to the Department of Justice's filing opposing JCN's request for expeditious review of the Biden Administration's Vaccine mandate. JCN's response was filed with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and it argues that DOJ's opposition to expeditious review is without merit.  The response reiterates the request to expeditiously rule on JCN's stay request on behalf of impacted American small business owners, including JCN members who are co-plaintiffs in this lawsuit. Shortly after their response was filed, the Fifth Circuit issued a longer opinion staying the Mandate, agreeing with several of the arguments JCN had separately raised in its Eighth Circuit case.

Alfredo Ortiz, JCN President and CEO, released the following statement: 

"We ask the Eighth Circuit to expeditiously rule on our lawsuit challenging the legality of the Biden Administration's employer vaccine mandate. Even with next week's lottery process to determine which circuit court will host the consolidated appeal of this mandate, expeditiously issuing a stay in the Eighth Circuit is not premature. Congress has expressly authorized courts to issue stays before the lottery occurs, and courts have repeatedly done so in the past. Additionally, we urge the Eighth Circuit to adopt the Fifth Circuit's most recent ruling that the OSHA vaccine mandate is illegal because OSHA lacked authority to impose such a sweeping mandate and failed to show that imposing draconian restrictions on nearly 100 million Americans was necessary.

"The Biden Administration is trying to have it both ways with this mandate. On one hand, it claims the mandate is urgently needed to respond to a "grave" emergency. Yet at the same time, its Department of Justice is advising the Eighth Circuit there is no need to quickly address JCN's lawsuit. The court should move expeditiously to consider our lawsuit pursuant to the emergency standard upon which the employer vaccine mandate is based. If the mandate is actually the emergency the Administration claims, court challenges like ours must be resolved immediately. 

"Finally, the White House actually called on small businesses to move forward with vaccine mandates despite the Fifth Circuit's temporary stay issued last week. This action suggests an immediate review of JCN's case is necessary to provide clarity to impacted American small business owners."

SOURCE Job Creators Network