vaccine.
The OSHA rule was published on November 5, 2021. Employers were responsible for developing, implementing, and enforcing a COVID-19 vaccination policy: any covered employee who was not fully vaccinated was required to wear a face mask at all times at work and undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. However, employers were not required to offer the testing and masking option. And, for those that did, employers were not required to pay for weekly testing or provide employees with time off to purchase and administer the tests; rather, after obtaining and administering a weekly test, employees were responsible for reporting their results to their employer. If an employee did not comply with the requirements, their employer was responsible for removing them from the workplace. Fines on the employer for failing to do so ranged from $13,653 to $136,532 per employee.
Under the OSHA mandate, no state or local law could contradict or preempt the federal rule. Twenty-seven states, as well as several businesses and non-profit institutions, challenged the rule in federal courts across the country. One appellate court issued a stay that put the rule on pause, but a separate court lifted the stay and allowed the rule to take effect. Upon expedited review of the case and after a lengthy oral argument, in a 6-3 opinion the Supreme Court reinstated the stay, finding that OSHA likely exceeded its authority by issuing the mandate. There were four primary reasons for the Court’s ruling, some of which have overlapping principles
https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/covid-19-vaccine-mandates-supreme-court-scope-and-limits-federal-authority