US Supreme Court blocks Biden's decision on mandatory vaccination in large companies

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The US Supreme Court has blocked US President Joe Biden's decree on mandatory vaccination or weekly testing of employees in large companies, but allowed the administration to implement the decision on mandatory vaccination of healthcare workers.

The decision was made after the court last week "heard" arguments in the proceedings on temporary mandatory vaccination issued by two federal agencies in November with the aim of increasing the vaccination rate in the US and making workplaces and healthcare facilities safer.

The Supreme Court was divided on both cases, agencies report.

In the first, six conservative judges voted against Biden's decree, and three liberal judges supported it.

In the second, the decision was made with five votes for and four against, with two conservative judges joining the liberal ones.

The federal agency for occupational safety and health had previously adopted a rule according to which employees in companies with at least 100 employees must be vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19.

This rule applies to more than 80 million employees, and companies across the US were supposed to start implementing it last Monday.

Opponents of the decision, led by the state of Ohio, as well as some business groups, asked the judges to block it after a lower court lifted an injunction related to that decision.

The second mandatory decision involved mandatory vaccination for about 10.3 million healthcare workers in about 76,000 facilities, including hospitals and nursing homes funded by the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs.

The preliminary ruling of the Supreme Court regarding large companies states that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's rule does not represent the exercise of regular federal authority.

"Allowing the Administration to regulate dangers and challenges in everyday life, as most citizens have jobs and face the same risks, would significantly expand the regulatory authority of that body without the approval of Congress," the ruling stated.