SCOTUS refuses to block NY vaccine mandate for healthcare workers

By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) recently refused to grant injunctive relief to several New York healthcare workers who had been ordered to get vaccinated for COVID-19 by a certain date. What makes the case interesting is the state vaccine rule had no religious exemption at all. The result can be puzzling because the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (which covers New York) just sent a case back to a district court after finding New York City’s shot mandate policy was defective because the religious accommodation protocol it used was “constitutionally infirm.” Does an employee’s religious objections to the vaccine matter? Read on to understand what the SCOTUS ruling means for your business.

Background

New York State Department of Health’s (NYSDOH) Public Health and Health Planning Council unanimously approved an emergency regulation requiring the vaccination of virtually all healthcare workers employed in the state’s hospitals, nursing homes, and other identified healthcare entities. The mandate took effect on August 26, 2021, and required the following: