First District Congressman Kevin Hern said Thursday he is considering legal action against a proposed federal worker safety regulation that would require employee COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly testing for all businesses with at least 100 employees.

“We will look at every action possible as soon as the rule comes out, including ... legal action to push back on the Biden administration and their unconstitutional overreach as it relates to private business in America,” Hern said at his Tulsa office.

Asked to define “we,” Hern said: “We’ve been talking to legal teams and we’ve been talking to other members (of Congress) across the country. ... I think there could be both Democrats and Republicans. I’m co-chair of the Small Business Caucus, and we’ll be calling on members of that Small Business Caucus, which is very bi-partisan, to step up and support who they represent, which is small business in America.”

With COVID-19 continuing to spread in much of the country, Biden last week ordered all federal employees, contractors and employees of federally funded health care facilities to be vaccinated.

He also directed the Occupational Health and Safety Administration — OSHA — to develop what’s known as an emergency temporary standard that would require employers with at least 100 workers to confirm vaccinations or weekly COVID-19 tests for each employee.

Many employers consider the requirement onerous while some workers complain it is an infringement on their individual rights.

Hern on Thursday repeatedly returned to the constitutionality of the proposed regulation and its potential financial impact on businesses while downplaying the public health aspects of the matter.

He encouraged voluntary vaccination and said his opposition to Biden’s initiative should not be interpreted as criticism of businesses that institute vaccine and other preventative mandates on their own.

Besides possible legal action, Hern — who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee — said he would try to cut off funding for the proposed rule.

OSHA may issue emergency temporary standards for up to six months if the agency determines “that workers are in grave danger due to exposure to toxic substances or agents determined to be toxic or physically harmful ... and that an emergency standard is needed to protect them.”

Observers say a lawsuit on constitutional grounds would likely come into conflict with a 1905 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld a Massachusetts fine for refusing vaccination during a smallpox epidemic.