Washington, January 15 (RHC)-- The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the Biden administration’s requirement that workers at large private companies get vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly. 

The court’s conservative majority ruled the Occupational Safety and Health Administration overstepped its authority when it ordered the mandate, affecting some 84 million private sector employees.

In a dissenting opinion, Justices Breyer, Kagan and Sotomayor wrote: “Today, we are not wise.  In the face of a still-raging pandemic, this Court tells the agency charged with protecting worker safety that it may not do so in all the workplaces needed.”

In a separate 5-4 decision, justices upheld a vaccination requirement for Medicare and Medicaid providers, covering about 10 million healthcare workers.