President Joe Biden’s edicts requiring large-scale workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing and the US Supreme Court has prohibited wearing a mask on the job. The action would overstep the Biden administration’s power, according to the judgment, which was issued on January 13. “The Supreme Court has chosen to prohibit common-sense life-saving standards for employees at major enterprises that were established solidly in both science and the law,” President Biden said of the decision. He went on to say that, it is now up to individuals, businesses, and governments to make the necessary changes.
“The Court has ruled that my administration cannot use the authority granted to it by Congress to require this measure,” President Biden said. “However, that does not prevent me from using my voice as President to advocate for employers to do the right thing to protect Americans’ health and economy.” “I urge business leaders to join others who have already taken action – including one-third of Fortune 100 businesses – by requiring vaccinations for their employees, customers, and communities.”
“It is now up to States and individual companies to decide whether to make their workplaces and businesses as safe as possible for employees and consumers during this pandemic by forcing employees to take the easy and effective step of getting vaccinated,” he stated. Biden first introduced the vaccine-or-test policy in September 2021. It specified that any private company with more than 100 employees must ensure that its staff is either vaccinated or tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis. They might have risked fines of up to $14,000 per infringement if they did not comply.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court endorsed a federal vaccine requirement for healthcare facilities in a separate decision. According to Reuters, this rule will necessitate immunization for almost 10.3 million workers at 76,000 healthcare institutions that accept funds from the government’s Medicare and Medicaid health-care programs for the crippled, old, and low-income. Certain medical and religious exemptions are included in the rule.
The vaccine-or-test policy, which halted this week, faced with strong opposition from Republican states and several business groups, who said that the mandate was an overreach of state power that would burden small businesses. Vaccine mandates are a contentious topic in general, but polls and surveys reveal they are unexpectedly popular in the United States. In August 2021, a poll reported that 60% of Americans supported vaccine requirements for frontline workers and members of Congress, while a COVID States Project poll from July 2021 found “strong public support for mandating immunizations,” with up to 64% of those polled in favor.
