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4  NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESS v. 

OSHA 
Per Curiam 

linemen face the same regulations as do medics and meat-
packers.  OSHA estimates that 84.2 million employees are 
subject to its mandate.  Id., at 61467. 

Covered  employers  must  “develop,  implement,  and  en-
force  a  mandatory  COVID–19  vaccination  policy.”    Id.,  at 
61402.  The employer must verify the vaccination status of 
each employee and maintain proof of it.  Id., at 61552.  The 
mandate does contain an “exception” for employers that re-
quire unvaccinated workers to “undergo [weekly] COVID–
19 testing and wear a face covering at work in lieu of vac-
cination.”  Id., at 61402.  But employers are not required to 
offer this option, and the emergency regulation purports to
pre-empt state laws to the contrary.  Id., at 61437.  Unvac-
cinated  employees  who  do  not  comply  with  OSHA’s  rule 
must be “removed from the workplace.”  Id., at 61532.  And 
employers  who  commit  violations  face  hefty  fines:  up  to 
$13,653 for a standard violation, and up to $136,532 for a 
willful one.  29 CFR §1903.15(d) (2021). 

C 
OSHA  published  its  vaccine  mandate  on  November  5, 
2021.  Scores  of  parties—including  States,  businesses, 
trade  groups,  and  nonprofit  organizations—filed  petitions 
for  review,  with  at  least  one  petition  arriving  in  each  re-
gional Court of Appeals.  The cases were consolidated in the 
Sixth Circuit, which was selected at random pursuant to 28
U. S. C. §2112(a).

Prior to consolidation, however, the Fifth Circuit stayed
OSHA’s  rule  pending  further  judicial  review.    BST  Hold-
ings,  17  F. 4th  604.    It  held  that  the  mandate  likely  ex-
ceeded  OSHA’s  statutory  authority,  raised  separation-of-
powers concerns in the absence of a clear delegation from
Congress, and was not properly tailored to the risks facing
different types of workers and workplaces.

When the consolidated cases arrived at the Sixth Circuit, 
two  things  happened.    First,  many  of  the  petitioners—