January 6, 2021
Something big is happening tomorrow at the supreme court that I know a lot of you care a lot about. Both the OSHA and CMS vaccine mandate cases will be heard by all nine justices.
Since you pretty much know how we got here this video is going to focus on three main things you need to know going into tomorrow’s oral arguments. And if you don’t know how we got here – I have lots of videos on every step. They can be found in the vaccine mandate category on my page.
Here are my three keys to tomorrow —
One – these are two separate cases the OSHA case and the CMS case – each is facing different legal challenges. Oral arguments will be heard– separately.
Two – none of these challengers are arguing at the Federal District, Appellate or Supreme Court level that vaccine mandates, generally, are illegal or shouldn’t be allowed. What they’re arguing is – the federal government does not have the authority to mandate a vaccine in these particular ways. So, the Supreme Court’s job in these cases tomorrow is to either lift or uphold the current stays ordered by the lower courts. Basically they’re going to decide whether the OSHA & CMS vaccine mandates will be allowed to take effect while the cases continue to play out in federal and appellate courts. Those cases aren’t done yet and will continue after this SCOTUS ruling.
Three – that said – having the high court get involved in cases at the “stay” level – not on the merits after an appellate final ruling…is pretty unusual and is worth noting.
Here’s the bottom line – it’s going to come down to timing. How fast will the justices issue their ruling. Because non-compliance penalties start for the OSHA mandate on Monday January 10th with testing fines beginning February 9th and health care workers at facilities that receive money from Medicare and Medicaid need to be fully vaccinated by the February 28th. *and* by statue the OSHA mandate has an expiration date. So, you can see how timing-wise — if the justices decide to uphold the stay on one or both mandates quickly, that could be the nail in the coffin. But there’s a lot of *ifs* in there.
Before you ask – I don’t know when they’re going to rule. The Supreme Court works on its own schedule. The justices will issue their ruling when they’re good and ready.
As you know, there are no cameras are allowed inside the Supreme Court, but you can listen to the oral arguments starting at 10 a.m. est tomorrow on the Supreme Court website here.
