The court’s orders on Thursday came as the US President faced ongoing criticism over his handling of the virus,with COVID tests in short supply,about a third of the country still unvaccinated,and daily cases reaching record levels in America.
The vaccine mandate policy emerged last year after Biden had directed the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to order employers to implement a vaccination mandate for every business with 100 or more workers. Employees who refused to get vaccinated would be required to get tested and wear a mask at work.
Similar mandates were also issued for healthcare personnel that receive Medicaid and Medicare funds.
But after a fiercely contested hearing last week,the Supreme Court’s conservative majority concluded the administration overstepped its authority by trying to impose the new rules on US businesses – a move that would have affected more than 80 million people across the country.
“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 conservatives wrote in an unsigned opinion.
In a statement issued after the court’s ruling,Biden said that the decision to uphold the requirement for health care workers would save lives,but he was “disappointed that the Supreme Court has chosen to block common-sense life-saving requirements for employees at large businesses that were grounded squarely in both science and the law.”