Biden administration withdraws vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is withdrawing its Covid vaccine-or-test requirement for large employers, citing the Supreme Court’s recent decision to block the rule.

The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday that the withdrawal of the emergency mandate would be effective on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, the high court blocked the mandate, which required larger businesses to ensure that workers are vaccinated against Covid or wear masks and get tested weekly. The court’s conservative majority said the administration had gone too far in imposing such a sweeping requirement on the nation’s businesses.

The workplace mandate required companies with 100 or more employees to ensure that their workers either get vaccinated or wear masks and show negative Covid tests at least once a week. The White House estimated the requirement would cover about 84 million workers.

The White House has issued a series of mandates for workers across the federal government and health care sector to encourage vaccinations after a surge of coronavirus infections overwhelmed hospitals and has led to a spike in deaths over the last several months.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration said it is withdrawing the requirement as an emergency mandate but not as a proposed rule, and is “prioritizing its resources to focus on finalizing a permanent COVID-19 Healthcare Standard.”