The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for large companies, reinstating a stay on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard. The rule, which OSHA first issued in November and which the court struck down on Jan. 13, would have applied to employers with 100 or more employees and required workers either to be fully vaccinated or to be masked and receive weekly COVID-19 tests. ABC filed one of the appeals that led to the court’s decision.
In a second decision issued on Jan. 13, the Supreme Court upheld another vaccine mandate—this one from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requiring that staff working for Medicare- or Medicaid-certified providers be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with minimal exceptions.
A vaccine mandate for federal contractors remains on hold thanks to a nationwide preliminary injunction from a federal judge in December, when ABC, among other organizations, issued a motion to intervene. The injunction remains in place pending an appeal.
ABC is opposed to vaccine mandates but encourages vaccination and urges contractors to adhere to CDC and OSHA safety guidelines. For more information, visit abc.org/coronavirus.
