Industry applauds court ruling

On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled to block an Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule that would have mandated vaccines or Covid-19 tests at companies with 100 employees or more.

On Friday, business executives and associations celebrated the decision.

The National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association President & CEO Jonathan Paine released the following statement:

“NLBMDA applauds the Supreme Court’s decision to block OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and provide temporary relief to employers while the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals determines the legality of the mandate,” he said. “While the health and safety of employees will always be a top priority for our industry, NLBMDA continues to have serious concerns regarding the financial and administrative burden that OSHA’s vaccine mandate would place on lumber and building material dealers. Yesterday’s majority opinion highlighted significant constitutional questions surrounding the legality of the mandate and we look forward to a final resolution by the courts in the coming weeks. "

Kodiak Building Partners CEO Steve Swinney issued the following message to employees of the Colorado-based company.

"I am very pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court announced yesterday that the Court has struck down President Biden’s OSHA vaccine mandate on businesses. In its ruling the court stated, 'Although COVID-19 is a risk that occurs in many workplaces, it is not an occupational hazard in most. COVID-19 can and does spread at home, in schools, during sporting events, and everywhere else that people gather. That kind of universal risk is no different from the day-to-day dangers that all face from crime, air pollution, or any number of communicable diseases.'

"In a time when our country is facing massive inflation and supply chain disruptions, this order would have exacerbated these problems by imposing significant costs increases on business, discouraging workforce participation, and making goods and services more expensive to consumers. We might have been willing to accept these negatives for an order that would actually make us safer, but the reality is that this order targeted at American citizens who prefer not to get a vaccine for various reasons would not accomplish that goal. Let’s hope that this is the beginning of less government overreach in our private businesses and an opportunity to successfully navigate through this pandemic and get our country, economy, and businesses back on track.

Swinney continued: "I am celebrating this great news with our entire team across the country. We are all glad for one less obstacle to serve our local communities and continue building the U.S."

The Supreme Court's ruling can be found here.