Court seems poised to block vaccine-or-test policy for workplaces but may allow vaccine mandate for health care workers

SCOTUS Blog ^ | 01/07/2022 | Amy Howe

[TexasGurl24]

This is SCOTUSBlog's take on this. They tend to be left of center in their reporting.

[Lurkinanloomin]

Split the baby, apply the tyranny slowly so as not to spook the sheep.

[BenLurkin]

Makes sense — when healthcare workers who refuse to take the “vaccination” it reveals to the public that the “vaccinations” are not something to be accepted lightly.

So the SCOTUS statists will want to punish those workers for not obeying the party.

[Gay State Conservative]

I think that a vaccinate *or* regular testing requirement might be a reasonable one for health care workers...and maybe others as well. But a vaccinate or be fired requirement is *never* justified.

[Alberta's Child]

Indeed, he noted, most OSHA regulations apply only while workers are on the job, but a vaccination is permanent.

Good for Alito for pointing this out. It’s even more ludicrous when you consider that OSHA mandate is behind issued under an Emergency Temporary Standard. There’s nothing “temporary” about a vaccine.

Mandating a vaccine as a workplace safety measure is the equivalent of requiring construction workers to get hard hats surgically attached to their heads.

[Sacajaweau]

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html

[Fury]

I’ve found Amy Howe’s takes mostly on the mark, so this may cause some folks some heartburn.

I’ve been listening to the audio. What the hell was going on with AJ Kagan? I don’t believe I have ever heard her so agitated.. It was noticeable.

[TexasGurl24]

I noticed the exact same thing. I commented on that in the live thread. I have never heard her act like that before. It was very, very unprofessional.

She came off like a Karen. I think she has completely bought into the COVID stuff.

All three of the liberal justices were acting the same way. It was all emotion, no logic or legal reasoning, and they were shrill and angry. Sotomayor is always like that, but Breyer and Kagan don’t normally act that way.

I thought it might be because they know that the OSHA mandate is going to get struck down and they are angry about it but that’s a wild guess.

[FreedomForce]

Sotomayor and Breyer need to at least educate themselves enough that they aren’t spouting nonsensical statistics before they vote on anything.

[ClearCase_guy]

Activist judges trying to write legislation.

What does the Constitution say?
Does the federal government really have power to say anything on this? Where?
And does the Constitution single out healthcare workers for a labor area where the federal government gets special control?
Is it OK to control this profession, but not that profession? How do we know where these lines are drawn?

The whole thing is totally inappropriate.
One might (possibly) think it’s all a really swell idea. But that doesn’t make it permissible.

[Skywise]

It’s interesting because it was split on the law wording - Medical people because the medicare contracts state that they have to abide by government rulings to get the money. OSHA may get blocked because it’s outside their legal powers for workplace regulations.

I’m stuck under the executive order mandate for government subcontractors though and I don’t think either of these rulings will apply to me.

[devere]

No one seems to care that the treatment being mandated doesn’t stop the disease from spreading. It seems that the Chief Justice would approve a mandate for all healthcare workers to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches if that is what HHS demanded.

[Skywise]

So much for “Heroes”

[Fury]

I will also chalk up AJ Breyer’s 750 million number as he misspoke. But AJ Sotomayor - she’s a space cadet.

[Skywise]

From a legal standpoint that’s outside the bounds of today’s debate. Yes, it applies, but the SC was strictly concerned about law - Does OSHA have legal power to give the order? Does HHS have legal power to give the order?

[mass55th]

"Split the baby, apply the tyranny slowly so as not to spook the sheep."

That's been the SOP of the left for decades, and it's worked. Republicans have willingly gone along.

[Quickgun]

I agree,I think a lot of the original proposed mandates were “or be tested” weekly. One local meat processor is offering $1000 bonuses to it’s employees to get vaccinated, the bonus goes into effect after 30 days employment. They claim they are having too many employees out sick or quarantined and can’t keep up production demands.

[WildHighlander57]

The problems arise when there aren’t enough tests.

What happens when someone documents in writing that they have chosen “test”, and they can’t find anyplace to get tested?

[Alberta's Child]

It seems that the Chief Justice would approve a mandate for all healthcare workers to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches if that is what HHS demanded.

I’m not a big fan of Roberts, but in this hypothetical scenario he wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. As he correctly pointed out about ObamaCare, it’s not the job of the Supreme Court to overturn laws just because they are stupid.