Mass. Building Trades Council v. U.S. Dep't of Labor (In re MCP No. 165)

21 F.4th 357

IN RE: MCP NO. 165, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Interim Final Rule: Covid-19 Vaccination and TestinG; Emergency Temporary Standard 86 Fed. Reg. 61402.

Massachusetts Building Trades Council, et al.; Bentkey Services, LLC ; Phillips Manufacturing & Tower Company, et al.; Commonwealth of Kentucky, et al.; Answers in Genesis, Inc.; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, et al.; BST Holdings, LLC, et al.; Republican National Committee; Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., et al.; Massachusetts Building Trades Council ; Union of American Physicians and Dentists; Associated General Contractors of America, Inc., et al.; National Association of Broadcast Employees & Technicians, The Broadcasting and Cable Television Workers Sector of the Communications Workers of America, Local 51, AFL-CIO ; State of Missouri, et al.; United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO ; State of Indiana ; Tankcraft Corporation, et al.; National Association of Home Builders; Job Creators Network, et al.; United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, AFL/CIO-CLC, et al.; Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ; MFA, Inc., et al.; State of Florida, et al. ; AFT Pennsylvania ; Denver Newspaper Guild, Communications Workers of America, Local 37074, AFL-CIO ; DTN Staffing, Inc., et al. ; FabArc Steel Supply, Inc., et al; Media Guild of the West, the News Guild-Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, Local 39213 ; Natural Products Association ; Oberg Industries, LLC ; Betten Chevrolet, Inc. ; Tore Says LLC ; Kentucky Petroleum Marketers Association, et al. ; Aaron Abadi , Petitioners,

v.United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, et al., Respondents.

Nos. 21-7000/4027

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United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Decided and Filed: December 17, 2021

ON EMERGENCY MOTION TO DISSOLVE STAY AND REPLY: Sarah E. Harrington, Michael S. Raab, Adam C. Jed, Brian J. Springer, Martin Totaro, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Respondents. IN RESPONSE: R. Trent McCotter, BOYDEN GRAY & ASSOCIATES, Washington, D.C., for Job Creators Network Petitioners. Felicia K. Watson, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS OF THE UNITED STATES, Washington, D.C., for Petitioner National Association of Home Builders of the United States. Christopher Wiest, CHRIS WIEST, ATTORNEY AT LAW, PLLC, Crestview Hills, Kentucky, for Petitioner Betten Chevrolet, Inc. Harold Craig Becker, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS, Washington, D.C., Peter J. Ford, UNITED FOOD & COMMERCIAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, Washington, D.C., Randy Rabinowitz, OSH LAW PROJECT, LLC, Washington, D.C., Andrew D. Roth, BREDHOFF & KAISER, PLLC, Washington, D.C., Nicole Berner, SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, Washington, D.C., Keith R. Bolek, O'DONOGHUE & O'DONOGHUE LLP, Washington, D.C., Victoria L. Bor, SHERMAN DUNN, P.C., Washington, D.C., for Petitioner Union of American Physicians and Dentists. Cathleen A. Martin, John A. Ruth, NEWMAN, COMLEY & RUTH, P.C., Jefferson City, Missouri, for MFA Incorporated Petitioners. Benjamin M. Flowers, May Davis, OFFICE OF THE OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL, Columbus, Ohio, Christopher L. Thacker, Lindsey R. Keiser, OFFICE OF THE KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL, Frankfort, Kentucky, Clark L. Hildabrand, Brandon J. Smith, OFFICE OF THE TENNESSEE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Nashville, Tennessee, Brian Kane, Leslie M. Hayes, Megan A. Larrondo, OFFICE OF THE IDAHO ATTORNEY GENERAL, Boise, Idaho, Jeffrey A. Chanay, OFFICE OF THE KANSAS ATTORNEY GENERAL, Topeka, Kansas, Mithun Mansinghani, OFFICE OF THE OKLAHOMA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Lindsay S. See, OFFICE OF THE WEST VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Charleston, West Virginia, Edmund G. LaCour Jr., OFFICE OF THE ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Montgomery, Alabama, Charles E. Brasington, OFFICE OF THE ALASKA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Anchorage, Alaska, Drew C. Ensign, OFFICE OF THE ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Phoenix, Arizona, D. John Sauer, OFFICE OF THE MISSOURI ATTORNEY GENERAL, Jefferson City, Missouri, David M. S. Dewhirst, Christian B. Corrigan, OFFICE OF THE MONTANA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Helena, Montana, Nicholas J. Bronni, Vincent M. Wagner, OFFICE OF THE ARKANSAS ATTORNEY GENERAL, Little Rock, Arkansas, Henry C. Whitaker, Jason H. Hilborn, OFFICE OF THE FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Tallahassee, Florida, James A. Campbell, OFFICE OF THE NEBRASKA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lincoln, Nebraska, Anthony J. Galdieri, OFFICE OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Concord, New Hampshire, Matthew A. Sagsveen, OFFICE OF THE NORTH DAKOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Bismarck, North Dakota, Ross W. Bergethon, OFFICE OF THE GEORGIA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Atlanta, Georgia, Thomas M. Fisher, OFFICE OF THE INDIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Indianapolis, Indiana, Thomas T. Hydrick, OFFICE OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Columbia, South Carolina, Samuel P. Langholz, OFFICE OF THE IOWA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Des Moines, Iowa, Elizabeth B. Murrill, OFFICE OF THE LOUISIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Judd E. Stone II, William F. Cole, Ryan S. Baasch, OFFICE OF THE TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL, Austin, Texas, Melissa A. Holyoak, OFFICE OF THE UTAH ATTORNEY GENERAL, Salt Lake City, Utah, John V. Coghlan, OFFICE OF THE MISSISSIPPI ATTORNEY GENERAL, Jackson, Mississippi, Ryan Schelhaas, OFFICE OF THE WYOMING ATTORNEY GENERAL, Cheyenne, Wyoming, for State Petitioners. Michael E. Toner, Thomas M. Johnson, Jr., Stephen J. Obermeier, Jeremy J. Broggi, Krystal B. Swendsboe, WILEY REIN LLP, Washington, D.C., for Petitioner Republican National Committee. Daniel P. Lennington, WISCONSIN INSTITUTE FOR LAW & LIBERTY, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for Tankcraft Petitioners. Matthew R. Miller, Robert Henneke, Chance Weldon, Nathan Curtisi, TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION, Austin, Texas, for Burnett Specialists Petitioners. John Stone Campbell III, John P. Murrill, TAYLOR, PORTER, BROOKS, & PHILLIPS L.L.P., Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for Cox Operating Petitioners. Jessica Hart Steinmann, Josh Campbell, Rachel Jag, AMERICA FIRST POLICY INSTITUTE, Washington, D.C., Kris W. Kobach, ALLIANCE FOR FREE CITIZENS, Lecompton, Kansas, for DTN Staffing Petitioners. Daniel R. Suhr, M. E. Buck Dougherty III, LIBERTY JUSTICE CENTER, Chicago, Illinois, Sarah Harbison, PELICAN INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY, New Orleans, Louisiana, for BST Holdings Petitioners. Kurtis T. Wilder, Joseph E. Richotte, Steven R. Eatherly, BUTZEL LONG, P.C., Detroit, Michigan, for Petitioner Small Business Association of Michigan. Henry M. Perlowski, Ashley S. Kelly, ARNALL GOLDEN GREGORY LLP, Atlanta, Georgia, Richard J. Oparil, ARNALL GOLDEN GREGORY LLP, Washington, D.C., for Petitioner Natural Products Association. Robert Alt, THE BUCKEYE INSTITUTE, Columbus, Ohio, Patrick Strawbridge, CONSOVOY MCCARTHY PLLC, Boston, Massachusetts, for Petitioner Phillips Manufacturing & Tower Company. David A. Cortman, John J. Bursch, Matthew S. Bowman, Frank H. Chang, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Washington, D.C., Ryan L. Bangert, Ryan J. Tucker, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Scottsdale, Arizona, for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Petitioners. Jordan A. Sekulow, Abigail A. Southerland, Miles Terry, Christy Stierhoff, AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW & JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., Edward L. White III, AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW & JUSTICE, Ann Arbor, Michigan, for Petitioner Heritage Foundation. Steven P. Lehotsky, Scott A. Keller, Michael B. Schon, LEHOTSKY KELLER LLP, Washington, D.C., for Business Association Petitioners. Matthew J. Clark, ALABAMA CENTER FOR LAW AND LIBERTY, Birmingham, Alabama, for FabArc Steel Supply Petitioners. J. Larry Stine, WIMBERLY, LAWSON, STECKEL, SCHNEIDER & STINE, P.C., Atlanta, Georgia, for Associated Builders and Contractors Petitioners. Jeffrey C. Mateer, Hiram S. Sasser III, David J. Hacker, Jeremiah G. Dys, Lea E. Patterson, Keisha T. Russell, FIRST LIBERTY INSTITUTE, Plano, Texas, for Answers in Genesis Petitioners. David A. Cortman, John J. Bursch, Matthew S. Bowman, Frank H. Chang, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Washington, D.C., Ryan L. Bangert, Ryan J. Tucker, ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, Scottsdale, Arizona, Harmeet K. Dhillon, Ronald D. Coleman, Mark P. Meuser, Michael A. Columbo, DHILLON LAW GROUP INC., San Francisco, California, for Petitioner Bentkey Services. Aaron Abadi, New York, New York, pro se. ON AMICUS BRIEF: Brianne Gorod, CONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER, Washington, D.C., Scott E. Rosenow WMC LITIGATION CENTER, Madison, Wisconsin, Catherine L. Strauss, ICE MILLER LLP, Columbus, Ohio, Sheng Li, NEW CIVIL LIBERTIES ALLIANCE, Washington, D.C., Emmy L. Levens, COHEN MILSTEIN SELLERS & TOLL PLLC, Washington, D.C., Rachel L. Fried, Jessica Anne Morton, Jeffrey B. Dubner, JoAnn Kintz, DEMOCRACY FORWARD FOUNDATION, Washington, D.C., Scott L. Nelson, Allison M. Zieve, PUBLIC CITIZEN LITIGATION GROUP, Washington, D.C., Michael T. Anderson, Adam C. Breihan, MURPHY ANDERSON PLLC, Washington, D.C., Deepak Gupta, GUPTA WESSLER PLLC, Washington, D.C., for Amici Curiae.

Before: GIBBONS, STRANCH, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges.

STRANCH, J., delivered the opinion of the court in which GIBBONS, J., joined. GIBBONS, J. (pg. ––––), delivered a separate concurring opinion. LARSEN, J. (pp. 39–––– – ––––57), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across America, leading to the loss of over 800,000 lives, shutting down workplaces and jobs across the country, and threatening our economy. Throughout, American employees have been trying to survive financially and hoping to find a way to return to their jobs. Despite access to vaccines and...