Inslee: Supreme Court ruling doesn't bar future vaccine mandate for Washington employers
Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday he could still enact a statewide workplace vaccine mandate for large employers. His statement comes after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration's emergency temporary standard for private employers.
The federal rule would have required companies with 100 or more employers to check each worker's vaccination status and regularly test unvaccinated workers starting in February. The court's conservative majority said the federal agency lacked the authority to issue such a rule.
"There's nothing in there to suggest the state has a diminished capability of protecting people," Inslee said. "On the other hand, employers have to deal with extreme human resources challenges right now, and adding to this with this rule? I'm aware of that. But I would not eliminate it for all time from our consideration."
The statements from the governor leave large employers in Washington with an even hazier picture of what may be required of them in coming months on the vaccine front, where they've had little clarity since President Joe Biden first announced his federal mandate in September. That rule was then paused by a panel of federal judges, and then allowed to proceed before the Supreme Court struck it down. Even with that decision, the federal government could try other avenues to enact a workplace vaccine requirement.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2022/01/13/inslee-workplace-vaccine-mandate.html