Conservative majority on Supreme Court signals doubts about Biden workplace vaccine rule

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared skeptical Friday of the Biden administration’s authority to impose a vaccine-or-testing requirement on the nation’s large employers (Source: “Supreme Court skeptical of Biden’s workplace vaccine rule,” Associated Press, Jan. 7).

The court seemed more open to a separate vaccine mandate for most health care workers. The arguments in the two cases come at a time of spiking coronavirus cases because of the omicron variant.

Beginning Monday, unvaccinated employees in big companies are supposed to wear masks at work, unless the court blocks enforcement. But testing requirements and potential fines for employers don’t kick in until February.

Legal challenges to the policies from Republican-led states and business groups are in their early stages, but the outcome at the high court probably will determine the fate of vaccine requirements affecting more than 80 million people.