Supreme Court blocks employer vaccine mandate

The Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for private companies with 100 or more employees.

Decision: In an unsigned 6-3 decision, the court said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration lacks the legal authority to implement the mandate.

Impact: OSHA’s emergency temporary standard, part of which began to take effect Monday, would have covered an estimated 84 million workers. Private businesses may still choose to implement employee vaccination requirements.

Health Care Facilities: The court separately issued a 5-4 decision allowing a Department of Health and Human Services mandate requiring vaccination among employees of health care facilities that accept Medicare or Medicaid payments.

Resources: ICBA offers a summary of the employer vaccine mandate and additional resources on its Pandemic Response webpage.