U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Provider Vaccine Mandate But Blocks Employer Vaccine Mandate

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for health care providers, while striking down its “vaccine-or-test” mandate for employers with 100-plus employees. The vote in the employer mandate case was 6 to 3 and split along party lines, while the vote in the health care case was 5 to 4 with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh joining the liberal justices in the majority opinion.

Both cases turned on whether the federal government had overreached its legal authority to impose vaccine mandates. In the case of the vaccine mandate for health care providers, the Court found no overreach on the federal government’s part, but in the case of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule, the Court found that the federal government overreached its authority.

Relying on the language of the governing statute and precedent, the Court upheld the vaccine mandate for health care workers, ruling that the mandate “falls within the authorities that Congress has conferred upon [the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS)].” The Court also noted that historically “facilities that receive money from the Medicare and Medicaid programs must comply with many federal health and safety requirements” established by the HHS Secretary to safeguard patients.

AGR is awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding when health care facilities will have to comply with its vaccine mandate.

The OSHA rule would have applied to employers with 100-plus employees and required employers to either require their employees be vaccinated or set up a weekly testing program for their unvaccinated employees. Unvaccinated employees would also have to wear masks while at work. Companies that failed to comply with the rule faced substantial fines.

The Court’s ruling stated that the OSHA mandate “draws no distinctions based on industry or risk of exposure to Covid-19,” and that the rule acted as a “blunt instrument.” Therefore, the rule overreached the federal government’s authority since it was overly broad.

Though the Court blocked the OSHA mandate, its ruling only prohibits the federal government from mandating employers vaccinate their employees. Private employers can still choose to require their employees be vaccinated.