Washington, Nov 7 (TIWN) A US federal appeals court has ruled to temporarily halt a mandate by President Joe Biden's administration that required employees of large companies to get vaccinated or undergo frequent testing.

The law would require workers at private companies with more than 100 employees to get fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or be tested weekly.  But the court found "grave statutory and constitutional" issues with the rule, set to be introduced in January.  It said it was suspending the mandate and gave the Biden administration until Monday to respond.  Five Republican-led states - Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah - as well as private companies and religious groups, had filed legal challenges against the mandate.  They accused the president of overstepping his authority.  Louisiana's Attorney General Jeff Landry tweeted that the court's decision was a "major win for the liberty of job creators and their employees". 

The US workers refusing to get jabbed If enforced, the ruling by the the fifth US circuit court of appeals would be a blow to the Biden administration's sweeping measures to extend vaccination.  Mr Biden says the mandate, which would cover more than two-thirds of the nation's workers, would set a national standard of safety at work.  On Thursday, the president said employees at large companies would have to be fully vaccinated by 4 January, calling vaccination "the single best pathway out of this pandemic".