Supreme Court Tanks Biden’s Big Business Vaccine Mandate

The Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for big businesses on Thursday, but preserved a narrower vaccine requirement for federally funded health care workers.

Both decisions were unsigned and featured different coalitions. The Court blocked the big business mandate over the dissent of the liberal trio, while Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined with the liberals to preserve the health care worker mandate.

The big business rule would have forced more than 80 million workers to get vaccinated or submit to regular testing. It was issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The health care worker mandate applies to all medical facilities that take Medicare or Medicaid dollars, and similarly requires all workers to get inoculated against COVID.

Thursday’s decision is a setback for President Biden, who is struggling to make progress against the pandemic. COVID tests remain sparse in many parts of the country, and the administration did not craft a plan to improve access until late December, well into the surge of Omicron variant infections. The president’s pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, has been criticized for bungling booster shot guidance and succumbing to outside pressure when revising recommended quarantine protocols.

Following Thursday’s ruling, the president said he would use his bully pulpit to press businesses to impose vaccine mandates on their own.

“I call on business leaders to immediately join those who have already stepped up—including one third of Fortune 500 companies—and institute vaccination requirements to protect their workers, customers, and communities,” Biden said in a statement. – READ MORE