Supreme Court blocks vaccine mandate on large employers

The U.S. Supreme Court has halted the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s vaccine and testing mandates for large employers.

But in addition to rejecting that mandate for large employers, the Supreme Court issued a separate ruling that allows vaccine mandates for employees at healthcare facilities receiving federal funds.

The court's ruling blocking the large employer vaccine mandate effectively stops OSHA's Emergency Temporary Standard mandates that would have required businesses with 100 or more employees to have their workers get COVID-19 vaccinations or undergo weekly testing.

• Our colleagues at SESCO Management Consultants note that unless a further order is issued by the court, the federal ETS for those large employers is now blocked in its entirety nationwide.

• We should note that in Virginia, there are no state rules mandating that private employees get their vaccines or undergo regular weekly testing.

The state does have the Virginia Permanent Standard which lays out reporting requirements when an employee tests positive for the virus, disinfection protocols, and other guidelines.