Supreme Court blocks COVID-19 vaccine-or-testing mandate for workplaces but lets medical rule stand

Author: Editors Desk Source: USA Today

January 13, 2022 at 19:13

A COVID-19 vaccine is prepared for administration in Los Angeles on Jan. 7. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP Via Getty Images

The court in a second unsigned opinion permitted a vaccine mandate on people employed at health care facilities that receive federal funding through Medicare and Medicaid. That measure affects about 10 million workers.

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Thursday halted enforcement of one of President Joe Biden's signature efforts to combat COVID-19, ruling that his administration doesn't have the authority to impose vaccine-or-testing requirements on employers that would have covered tens of millions of Americans.

The unsigned opinion, which came days after the justices heard arguments in the emergency appeal, marked the second time the nation's highest court unwound a pandemic policy of the Biden administration, again concluding that federal officials exceeded the power given to them by Congress. The court blocked Biden's eviction moratorium in August, ruling that it also was an overreach.

At issue in the workplace case was whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had the power to impose the requirements under a 1970 law.