Breaking News: U.S. Supreme Court Decision Preventing Biden's Vaccine Mandate

The United States Supreme Court issued a ruling on January 13, 2022 preventing Biden’s vaccine mandate covering private employers with at least 100 employees from taking effect, but the Court’s ruling upheld the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. OSHA’s regulatory authority is limited to “occupational” hazards, so OSHA may issue a targeted vaccine mandate when COVID-19 “poses a special danger because of the particular features of an employee’s job or workplace,” as is the case for healthcare workers. The Court reasoned that in most other cases, however, the risk of contracting COVID-19 is not an “occupational” hazard, as the risk of spreading or contracting COVID-19 is the same in the workplace as it is in every place where people gather. Since the Court found COVID-19, in most workplaces, to be a “universal risk no different from the day-to-day dangers that all face,” OSHA would be significantly expanding their regulatory authority by enforcing such a mandate over private employers without first receiving clear authorization from Congress.