SCOTUS expected to make decision on Biden vaccine mandate this week

The Supreme Court could rule on the president’s vaccine mandate soon.

The mandate forces companies with 100 or more workers to require vaccinations or testing.

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Georgia is one of the states that challenged the rule, citing government overreach, and played a big role in this lawsuit making it to the Supreme Court. This decision could affect people out of work because of mandates and who are getting weekly testing at the jobs they have.

Channel 2′s Matt Johnson spoke with someone who quit their job instead of getting vaccinated.

Trish Springer said it was a COVID-19 vaccine mandate that made her quit her administrative job at a hospital in October.

“Nobody should tell anybody what they have to take,” she said. “They made it very complicated and made it more difficult for me, for me and my children.

She says her history of reactions to vaccines is keeping her from getting vaccinated.

“I’ve had a reaction to the flu shot really, really bad. I get really hard to breathe,” Springer said.

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Friday while justices consider whether to strike down parts of the federal government’s vaccine mandates.

The Biden administration has issued mandates for large companies and health care facilities that receive federal dollars.

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Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis said the court may rule against a mandate for large employers but not for health care facilities.

“What you might see is the is the Supreme Court tell the government that they have to go back and come up with perhaps a slightly narrower, more tailored approach to the rule,” he said.

Hospitals in the metro Atlanta areas implemented their own vaccine mandates before the federal government issued them in November.

Federal vaccine requirements for companies with 100 or more employees appear most likely to face changes.

“I think this really speaks to the foundational question of, ‘what is government supposed to do?’ And how can government work for the people in public health crises like the one that we’re facing now?” Kreis said.

Johnson spoke to a local nurse who said she quit because of a mandate, but she said some people like her may remain unemployed because of how common mandates have become.

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“I feel like issues like this should be personal,” she said. “I turned in my resignation. … I’ve currently had a struggle finding new employment.”

The Supreme Court is not known for making speedy decisions, but given the emergency happening now, many law experts are expecting a decision within a week at the latest.

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