Paxton Joins Coalition Against OSHA Mandate

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton joined a coalition of 27 attorneys general in a letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) proposed Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), which requires companies with 100+ employees to force them to be vaccinated or to test negative on a weekly basis. OSHA’s proposal was issued less than a year after it concluded that COVID-19 did not merit a workplace safety rule.

The letter follows a 6-3 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court last week, which halted the Biden Administration’s OSHA vaccine mandate in response to a legal challenge brought by several state attorneys general, in addition to trade groups, nonprofits, and private businesses.

Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, OSHA has not withdrawn the emergency temporary standard (ETS), which would require vaccination for tens of millions of employees across the country.

The Biden Administration has not withdrawn the proposed ETS despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, issued on January 13, that OSHA does not have the statutory authority to impose a vaccine mandate. Its apparent intent to continue infringing upon the rights of millions of Americans, and to ignore the Court’s ruling, demonstrates a troubling disrespect for the rule of law.

The constitution is clear, it is not lawful to force hard-working Americans to choose between their jobs and family’s financial security, on the one hand, and their physical well-being on the other, Attorney General Paxton said. I have fought to protect the rights of Texans and I will not stop until this misguided attempt at federal overreach has come to an end.

A copy of the letter can be found here.