Following a 6-3 Supreme Court opinion on Thursday, the Biden administration's nationwide COVID-19 vaccine-or-testing mandate for large private employers is dead. But for many companies and their employees, a job will still require a job.



That's because many local governments, including New York City, have vaccine requirements that are not influenced by the Supreme Court's opinion. nor the US The government mandates that employees of federal contractors be vaccinated. Still more large and small U.S. Employers have their own requirements.


Wells Fargo (ticker: WFC), which had 230,000 employees as of its last annual report, has a mandate that is similar to the federal vaccine-or-test requirement. In November, it told employees it was strongly recommending that they get vaccinated, and that if they didn't they would have to submit to routine COVID-19 testing.


"Wells Fargo will continue our testing program," a Wells Fargo spokesperson said on Thursday. "We believe this is the right thing to do to protect all employees and our customers."



Citi's (c) strict vaccine mandate will remain in effect Friday, Barron has learned. The bank is required to vaccinate its 210,000 employees, or else they will be fired at the end of this month. On LinkedIn, human resources chief Sarah Wechter said Thursday evening that the company has reached 99% compliance.


Federal contractors subject to a separate federal vaccine rule include many of America's largest industrial firms, such as Boeing (BA), which has 141,000 employees, and Honeywell (HON), which has 103,000 employees. Both declined to comment on Thursday.


The federal rule also applies to many airlines that transport mail or government employees, or participate in a civilian reserve air fleet program, among other federal aviation services. A spokesperson for American Airlines Group (AAL) said in a statement to Barron that the ruling "changes nothing for American because we are subject to a federal contractor mandate, not subject to the OSHA rule, which was blocked by the Supreme Court." Have given. ." He said more than 96% of airline employees have submitted proof of vaccination or a request for exemption.

The federal vaccine-or-test requirement would have been enforced through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, and would be applied to companies with more than 100 employees. That's about 84 million American workers.


President Joe Biden on Thursday expressed dismay at the Supreme Court's opinion and called on business leaders to step up to enforce vaccination requirements.


"As a result of the court's decision, it is now up to states and individual employers to determine whether to make their workplaces as safe as possible for employees, and whether their businesses will remain safe for consumers during this pandemic." For this the employees need to be hired. Simple and effective step of vaccination,” Biden said in a statement. "The court has ruled that my administration cannot use the authority granted by Congress to require this measure, but it allows me to advocate for employers to do the right thing to protect the health and economy of Americans." Doesn't stop him from using his voice as president."


The Supreme Court on Thursday also upheld the Biden administration's rule that workers in health facilities working with Medicare or Medicaid must be fully vaccinated, which includes more than 17 million workers.


For many companies, staffing shortages have hindered operations during the omicron wave of COVID-19. Vaccinating their workforce could be a way to shorten the quarantine period and keep operations humming.


A spokesperson said Thursday, “Ford (F) continues to strongly encourage all employees who are eligible to be vaccinated, and we are encouraged by the 88% of American salaried employees who have already been vaccinated. " "We are reviewing this decision to determine whether any changes to our vaccination policy are needed as we continue to prioritize the safety of our employees."


General Motors (GM) appeared to agree: "GM stands firmly in support of COVID-19 vaccination," a spokesman said. “We continue to strongly encourage employees to get vaccinated. Keeping employees and their families safe is a key priority for GM. Data consistently shows that getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself and those around you. "


Not all corporations or industry groups were in favor of the federal government's vaccine mandate.


"The Supreme Court's decision to remain on OSHA's difficult and unprecedented [test emergency temporary standard] is a significant victory for employers," David French, senior vice president of government relations for the National Retail Federation, said in a statement. “As NRF and the other plaintiffs expressed in our brief before the court, OSHA clearly exceeded its authority by declaring its original mandate under emergency powers without giving stakeholders the benefit of the rule-making process "

Delta Air Lines (DAL), which did not implement the vaccine mandate, declined to comment on the Supreme Court's decision. Delta tried to persuade employees to get vaccinated by imposing a $200 monthly insurance surcharge on employees who didn't get the shot. The airline has said that more than 90% of its employees have been vaccinated.


Southwest Airlines (LUV) and United Airlines Holdings (UAL) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.


Federal contract rules also present legal challenges. "The Supreme Court's OSHA ruling "explicitly made any employer subject to federal contract rules," said Douglas Breeley, partner at law firm Ropes & Gray. were," he said, referring to a mandate for immunizations imposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for health workers.


"The court did not say that the employer vaccine mandate was not allowed," Brealey said. “This was not a matter of personal liberty. It was about whether OSHA had Congressional authority to require employer vaccine mandates. Nothing about the ruling precludes employers from requiring employees to vaccinate. That means employers don't have that policy."