Vaccine-or-Test Federal Mandate Blocked by US Supreme Court

January 14, 2022

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Supreme Court Blocks Vaccine Mandate for Employers

*The following update is a report from Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association (ORLA)’s newsletter,
which can be viewed here.

January 13th, 2021 – Today The U.S. Supreme Court blocked the ‘vaccine or test’ requirement for large employers with 100 or more employees. The decision can be found here.

This was one of two employer mandates issued by the Biden administration in an effort to slow the spread of COVID. A vaccine mandate for certain health care workers will still go into effect nationwide.

Our national affiliates are still reviewing the decision and opinions and have highlighted these two statements in the majority opinion:

“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.”
“Applicants now seek emergency relief from this Court, arguing that OSHA’s mandate exceeds its statutory authority and is otherwise unlawful. Agreeing that applicants are likely to prevail, we grant their applications and stay the rule.”

What Does This Mean for Oregon Employers?
Oregon is a state with its own OSHA program and as such, ORLA continues to be directly involved in conversations with our state agency to advocate for alignment with federal OSHA’s approach. Given the Supreme Court decision and guidance provided by Oregon OSHA to date, Oregon hospitality operators should check the following webpagefrequently to learn more about Oregon OSHA’s decisions given the Supreme Court ruling.

ORLA remains hopeful that Oregon OSHA administrators understand the historic challenges facing business operators and will not implement a new vaccine or test policy that creates more inequity within our industry as businesses of all shapes and sizes do everything they can to stay in business.

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