OSHA Workplace Vaccine Mandate

September 9, 2021

Executive Order 14042 directed OSHA to develop emergency rules requiring vaccination or regular testing for businesses with 100 or more employees. The mandate applied to private sector employers and was intended to increase vaccination rates during the Delta variant surge. The Supreme Court in NFIB v. OSHA stayed the mandate pending review, indicating the petitioners demonstrated serious constitutional questions regarding the OSHA statute's scope. The Court found that OSHA's authority to regulate "grave dangers" in the workplace did not clearly authorize vaccination mandates affecting millions of workers nationwide. The constitutional questions involved non-delegation concerns, whether OSHA's statutory authority extended to general public health rather than workplace-specific hazards, and whether the mandate violated individual liberty interests. The case exemplified the "major questions doctrine" debate regarding executive authority.