Florida Christian schools join states' challenge to Biden admin's private employer vaccine mandate

ADF attorneys will ask 11th Circuit to immediately halt enforcement of mandate

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Cambridge Christian School in Tampa and The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach joined a coalition of several states in filing a petition for review Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to challenge the legality and constitutionality of the Biden administration’s mandate that requires all private employers of 100 or more employees to force unvaccinated employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, be subject to weekly testing and masking requirements, or lose their job. The coalition also intends to ask the court to suspend enforcement of the mandate, issued via the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, while the litigation moves forward.

The lawsuit—in which ADF attorneys represent the Christian schools, and the attorneys general of the states of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia represent their states as lead petitioners—will explain that the Biden administration lacks constitutional and statutory authority to issue the employer mandate, and that the mandate failed to meet the required procedural hurdles. In short, Florida and the Christian schools argue that the federal government cannot coerce individuals nationwide to undergo medical treatment, and it lacks authority to conscript employers to compel that result. The lawsuit, State of Florida v. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, takes no position on any COVID-19 vaccine or whether any person should make the personal decision to receive it. Both Cambridge Christian School and The King’s Academy have employees who have received a COVID-19 vaccine and those who have not.

“The Biden administration’s decision to mandate vaccines through an emergency standard issued by OSHA is unlawful, invades upon the autonomy of these religious institutions, and compels employers like our clients to intrude on their employees’ personal health decisions,” said ADF Senior Counsel Ryan Tucker. “The government has no authority to tell 80 million employees that they must be vaccinated or tested, and it cannot compel employers to become vaccine agents to achieve that same illegal result. We are pleased to join the states of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia in asking the 11th Circuit to put a stop to it immediately.”

ADF attorneys are litigating multiple lawsuits challenging the OSHA vaccine mandate.

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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