Supreme Court blocks Biden's vaccine mandate for U.S. workers, allows mandate for healthcare workers
By Sophie Mann @ Just The News
In a Thursday afternoon ruling, the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration's OSHA vaccine mandate that would apply to American workers.
The court allowed a separate policy, that requires vaccinations for most health-care workers at facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funding, to stand.
The court's majority was doubtful that the administration possesses the legal authority to impose a workplace vaccine mandate, which would have accounted for about 80 million employees. The healthcare worker mandate, on the other hand, accounts for about 17 million U.S. healthcare workers.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh were the only members of the court to find themselves in the majority on both decisions. All three Democrat-appointed justices dissented from the decision to block the workplace vaccine mandate. Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Barrett dissent from the decision to allow the healthcare worker mandate to take effect.
Last Friday, the justices heard nearly four hours of oral arguments on both policies before arriving at their decisions this week.