Enforcement of President Biden’s mandate that all federal employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine is once again delayed after an appeals court on Monday agreed to rehear the case, at least temporarily reversing a decision reached by a panel of the same court in April.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit granted an en banc hearing before all of its judges. While the case is being heard, the court has stayed the mandate. The Biden administration has not enforced the requirement since January when a district judge in Texas first paused the policy with a nationwide injunction.
The three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit reversed that judge’s decision in a 2-1 ruling in April, but enforcement was stalled due to a standard buffer period. The mandate was set to go back into effect in May, but a petition from those challenging the mandate for a rehearing from the entire 5th Circuit further delayed the Biden administration from taking action on employees out of compliance with the requirement. Now, the mandate is stayed until at least mid-September when the full court rehears the case.