BCN Indonesia – Business groups celebrated Thursday after the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers.
Several trade associations sued to block the rule, which required businesses with 100 or more employees to mandate their workers get a COVID-19 vaccine or be tested weekly. Key components of the mandate went into effect on Monday, including a workplace mask requirement for unvaccinated workers.
David French, senior vice president of government relations at the National Retail Federation (NRF), called the ruling a “significant victory for employers.”
“NRF urges the Biden administration to discard this unlawful mandate and instead work with employers, employees and public health experts on practical ways to increase vaccination rates and mitigate the spread of the virus in 2022,” he said in a statement.
The high court voted 6-3 to block the vaccine-or-test mandate, with conservative justices arguing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) did not have the authority to issue the rule, which affects more than 80 million workers. The case will now be sent back to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Business groups that sued to block the rule expressed concern that unvaccinated workers would leave their jobs rather than comply with the mandate amid a tight labor market. They also warned that employers would struggle to find enough COVID-19 tests for their workers.
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