The US Supreme Court has banned vaccination or testing in large companies. This blocks a measure announced in November by the Joe Biden administration.
Read everything about the coronavirus in this file.
The US government wants employees in companies with more than 100 employees to be either vaccinated against the corona virus or tested weekly. That measure would affect more than 80 million workers in the US. The scheme is seen as a means of pressure to increase vaccination coverage in the country.
But the Supreme Court, dominated by conservative judges, says the government has likely exceeded its jurisdiction. The regulation did not come through parliament, but was written by OHSA, the administrative department responsible for safety and health at work.
“While Congress has unequivocally given OHSA the power to regulate occupational hazards, the agency does not have the power to regulate public health more broadly,” US media outlets quoted the court’s ruling.
The rules were originally supposed to come into effect this month.
The Supreme Court does allow a vaccination requirement for employees of health care facilities who work with federal resources.
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