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Supreme Court Brushes Aside Challenge From Health Care Workers to Vaccine Requirement


Last Monday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer denied a request from a group of Massachusetts health care workers that sought to challenge a coronavirus vaccine requirement on the grounds that the vaccine requirement violated their religious freedom or would present a risk to their health.

The dispute centered around a hospital requiring its workers be vaccinated and those that refused were placed on unpaid leave or terminated.  While these workers could seek a religious or medical exemption from their employer, the workers that brought suit had their exemption requests denied.  They subsequently claimed the denial of their exemption requests violated federal law prohibiting discrimination.  As a result, an emergency stay was filed by these workers.

Now bear in mind that the denial by Justice Breyer of the requested stay is not necessarily a ruling on the merits.  Instead, this is Justice Breyer (who is the Justice charged with considering appeals to the Supreme Court from this part of the country) denying the request for the full Court to hear the appeal.  I would not necessarily call this ruling a surprise as the Supreme Court has in recent months declined to take up similar cases on vaccine mandate challenges.  With that being said, I would expect some case to eventually reach the Court and be heard by all the Justices.  When that day will come, however, is anyone’s guess.


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