BIRMINGHAM, AL – Today, the Alabama Center for Law and Liberty (“ACLL”) celebrated a huge win handed down by the United States Supreme Court for its clients, FabArc Steel Supply, Inc. (“FabArc”) and Tony Pugh. In this case, ACLL asked the United States Supreme Court to stay OSHA’s vaccine mandate, which would have subjected 84 millions Americans to a vaccinate-or-test mandate. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the mandate far exceeds OSHA’s authority and enjoined the Biden administration from enforcing it.
The Court’s decision today was joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett. The Court reasoned that if Congress purports to give an administrative agency like OSHA the power to make a decision of vast political and economic significance, then it needs to clearly say that it is giving the agency such power. Under that test, the Court reasoned that Congress had not clearly authorized OSHA to make such a huge healthcare decision for 84 million Americans disguised as a workplace-safety decision.
ACLL brought this suit on behalf of FabArc and Pugh immediately after OSHA released its mandate. FabArc is a closely held Alabama construction company employing almost 300 people, and it was therefore subject to OSHA’s mandate. In addition to his concerns about federal overreach and the health of his workers, FabArc’s President Tony Pugh had religious objections to forcing his employees to receive these vaccinations. Therefore, FabArc and Pugh retained ACLL to challenge the mandate. Their lawsuit was one of over 50 challenging the mandate and one of 14 that asked the United States Supreme Court to step in, which it did today.
“It is my privilege today to announce that the Supreme Court has granted a major victory not only for my clients, but also for every American who believes that the rule of law and individual liberties matter,” said Matt Clark, ACLL’s President. “While COVID-19 is a serious issue, the question is who decides how individuals should deal with it: the People themselves, or unelected and unaccountable federal agencies,” Clark continued. “Today, the People won, and tyranny lost,” Clark concluded.
ACLL is a conservative nonprofit legal organization based in Birmingham, Alabama, and it is the litigation arm of the Alabama Policy Institute. For more information, visit ACLL’s website at www.alabamalawandliberty.org.
