States Uncertain as Biden Vaccine-or-Test Mandate Takes Effect

The Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test requirement for employees at large private companies began Monday, but some workers are in limbo as they await a forthcoming Supreme Court decision – and state leaders are stepping in.

The first stage of the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for employees at large companies began Monday. But without word yet from the Supreme Court on pending challenges to the rule, some state leaders were left to take matters into their own hands.

The Supreme Court on Friday heard nearly four hours of arguments over two of the Biden administration’s vaccine requirements – cases that will have implications for some tens of millions of workers nationwide and for the president’s contentious strategy to combat the virus. The justices appeared skeptical of the requirements but seemed more open to a mandate for health care workers than the vaccine rule for private companies with more than 100 employees.