Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the affiliation of an unnamed spokesman. The person represents the Indiana Department of Labor.
Attorney General Todd Rokita announced that he will file a lawsuit Friday in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals against the federal government over the national COVID-19 vaccine mandate for large employers.
“This is a direct attack on states’ rights,” Rokita said Thursday. “This is a direct attack on individual liberties and freedom and it’s an overreach of the federal government.”
He added that the proposed rule is a “misuse” of Occupational Safety and Health Administration laws, because it isn’t necessarily a workplace violation issue.
His office will team up with other states to file two additional lawsuits: one challenging the federal vaccine mandate for federal contractors and another challenging the vaccination mandate for staff within all Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities.
Earlier Thursday Holcomb directed the Indiana Department of Labor to work with Rokita on a lawsuit over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for large employers.
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“This is an overreach of the government’s role in serving and protecting Hoosiers,” Holcomb said in a statement. “While I agree that the vaccine is the tool that will best protect against COVID-19, this federal government approach is unprecedented and will bring about harmful, unintended consequences in the supply chain and the workforce.”
President Joe Biden announced in September that he would be requiring vaccination mandates for businesses with more than 100 employees. Those who don’t get vaccinated will have to be tested weekly.
On Thursday his administration released details on the vaccine requirement. Workers will have until Jan. 4, 2022 to get vaccinated or face weekly testing.
The mandate applies to state and local governments in Indiana too, because Indiana has its own federally approved occupational safety and health regulatory program. States with their own plans must adopt requirements that are at least as effective as federal OSHA requirements.
When asked about this rule, an Indiana Department of Labor spokesperson said the Holcomb administration would make no comment beyond the governor’s statement.
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The Indiana Democratic Party criticized Holcomb and Rokita’s decision to pursue legal action.
“Hoosiers are right. It is their freedom and choice to receive a life-saving COVID-19 vaccine. It’s also the responsibility of state and federal government leaders to help Hoosier families put the pandemic behind us,” Lauren Ganapini, executive director of the Indiana Democratic Party said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the culture war Indiana Republicans created about vaccines and its benefits consistently put Indiana steps away from returning to pre-COVID normal life.”
Other Hoosier Republicans have slammed Biden for the vaccine mandate.
On Wednesday, Sen. Mike Braun announced he is leading a group of 40 other Senate Republicans to challenge Biden’s vaccine mandate under the Congressional Review Act. Fellow Hoosier Republican Sen. Todd Young, who is up for reelection in 2022, also joined the effort.
Rokita said Indiana will join Louisiana and Mississippi in the lawsuit regarding the contractor mandate, which he said would be filed Thursday. Those two states may also join Indiana in alawsuit over the Medicare mandate, a suit that Rokita said will likely be filed next week.
USA Today Reporter Maureen Groppe and IndyStar reporter Binghui Huang contributed to this story.
Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at 317-432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.
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