coronavirus pandemic

Appeals Court Upholds Order Freezing Biden Vaccine Rule for Employers

The ruling signaled the uphill legal battle facing the administration

Nicholas Kamm | AFP | Getty Images

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld its previous order temporarily blocking President Joe Biden's vaccine and testing mandate for large companies, rejecting a Justice Department request to lift the freeze.

A three-judge panel for the Louisiana-based Fifth Circuit said in a 24-page ruling that the Biden administration's order exposes companies to "severe financial risk if they refuse or fail to comply, and threatens to decimate their workforces."

"On the dubious assumption that the mandate does pass constitutional muster, which we need not decide today, it is nonetheless fatally flawed on its own terms," the court wrote, signaling the uphill legal battle facing the administration.

For more on this story, go to NBC News.

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