Supreme Court blocks vaccine mandate for larger employers

January 13, 2022

The US Supreme Court today voted 6-3 to block the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate. The mandate required vaccines or weekly COVID-19 tests for workers at businesses with at least 100 employees. It would have applied to more than 80 million employees.  In a 6-3 ruling, the court concluded the administration overstepped its authority.

“OSHA has never before imposed such a mandate. Nor has Congress. Indeed, although Congress has enacted significant legislation addressing the COVID–19 pandemic, it has declined to enact any measure similar to what OSHA has promulgated here,” the court wrote in its opinion.

What about Washington state?

According to NW News Network, Gov. Inslee’s office has said, “We do not intend to implement the OSHA rule for private employers using our own state authority. We are subject to the ruling by SCOTUS and we do not intend to implement the rule for Washington employers using our own authority at this time.”