Supreme Court blocks Biden's vaccine mandate for U.S. workers, allows mandate for healthcare workers

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.

Both rules had been challenged by Republican-led states, according to the Associated Press. In addition, business groups, among them the Job Creators Network and some of its members, attacked the OSHA emergency regulation as too expensive and likely to cause workers to leave their jobs amid another surge in infections and hospitalizations in the pandemic.

"The Supreme Court has stood up for small businesses by staying this illegal employer vaccine mandate," Job Creators Network (JCN) CEO Alfredo Ortiz said after the ruling. "The court has confirmed what JCN has long argued: OSHA does not have the authority to implement this sweeping regulation that will burden American businesses, including many small businesses, with new costs and exacerbate the historic labor shortage."

Elaine Parker  the president of the Job Creators Network, appeared on Fox News shortly after the decision came down from the Supreme Court. She said this was a “great day for all Americans," and "a great day for small business owners."

Parker pointed out that JCN was the first small business organization to file against the Biden administration and the first to petition the Supreme Court, asking them to block this mandate.

"It would have had a disproportionally negative effect on our small businesses who can least afford it when they're facing massive inflation and labor shortages," said Parker, who confirmed that JCN had reached out to both the White House and OSHA officials when the rules were being written. 

She said that she hopes the Biden administration won’t keep fighting this in the courts.

But Biden spoke out shortly thereafter, saying in a statement, “The Court has ruled that my administration cannot use the authority granted to it by Congress to require this measure, but that does not stop me from using my voice as President to advocate for employers to do the right thing to protect Americans’ health and economy.” 

The President asked companies to impose the mandate voluntarily in order to “protect Americans’ health and economy.”

Last Friday, the justices heard nearly four hours of oral arguments on both policies before arriving at their decisions this week.