The Supreme Court has blocked President Biden’s mandate that would’ve required employees at large private businesses to be vaccinated or be subjected to weekly testing.
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The proposed mandate required businesses with 100 or more employees to get vaccinated or submit a negative Covid test in order to report for work. Additionally, unvaccinated workers would’ve been required to wear masks indoors. In a statement, the Supreme Court said OSHA’s new emergency measure for businesses does not give them the authority to regulate public health measures.
“Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly. Requiring the vaccination of 84 million Americans, selected simply because they work for employers with more than 100 employees, certainly falls in the latter category,”
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President Biden released a statement regarding the decision and said the mandate was to protect workers and customers from the virus.
“The Court has ruled that my administration cannot use the authority granted to it by Congress to require this measure, but that does not stop me from using my voice as President to advocate for employers to do the right thing to protect Americans’ health and economy,”
Outside of the majority, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Stephen Breyer said the decision overruled Congress and President Biden’s ruling.
“As disease and death continue to mount, this Court tells the agency that it cannot respond in the most effective way possible. Without legal basis, the Court usurps a decision that rightfully belongs to others. It undercuts the capacity of the responsible federal officials, acting well within the scope of their authority, to protect American workers from grave danger,”
SOURCE: CNBC