Greater Louisville Inc.: SCOTUS Strikes Down Vaccine And Testing Mandate For Large Employers

Press release from Greater Louisville, Inc.:

2022-01-13

After months of speculation, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine and testing mandate for employers with more than 100 employees in a 6-3 ruling on ideological lines. That means that Greater Louisville businesses are no longer required to implement or enforce a COVID-19 vaccine or testing mandate.

While the sweeping vaccine or testing requirements for large private companies has been struck down, the high court allowed similar requirements to stand for healthcare workers that work with Medicare or Medicaid patients.

The overturned corporate mandate went into effect on Monday with employers needing to assess and track employee vaccination status. However, after the court’s final ruling, employers can resume creating and enforcing their own vaccination, masking, or testing mandates.

This is breaking news and may be updated. 

This is breaking news and may be updated. 

What should businesses do now?

While GLI empowers employers to make decisions that are best for their employees’ safety, our community currently has the highest transmission rate we have seen at any time during the pandemic. The Omicron wave is already impacting our economy with many businesses having to temporarily close or reduce hours due to short staffing from employee quarantines, sick days, and NTI.

We continue to encourage you to utilize tools at your disposal to encourage vaccinations including mandates, incentives, and educational materials. Here are steps you can take today to curb the spread of Omicron and keep our economy running:

This press release was produced by Greater Louisville, Inc.. The views expressed here are the author’s own.