Supreme Court blocks vaccine mandate for large employers

The Biden administration has withdrawn its COVID-19 vaccine and testing requirement for large employers after it was blocked on Jan. 12 by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The court ruled that the edict exceeded the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s authority over workplace safety. The U.S. Department of Labor, however, has not ruled out a potential vaccine and testing mandate in the future.

Last September, Biden announced a plan to use regulatory powers and other actions to substantially increase the number of Americans covered by vaccination requirements in the workplace. It was expected that the vaccine and testing requirement would apply to municipal and state workforces in many states, but not all. In Massachusetts, the Division of Labor Standards had indicated that the mandate likely would not apply to local governments.