In a 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay for President Joe Biden’s vaccine/testing mandate.
This means the mandate, also known as the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), is once again on hold pending additional legal review of cases currently being considered in lower courts. While this issue is not completely settled in the federal court system just yet, the Supreme Court sent clear signals that indicate the end of the ETS is likely.
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As we’ve mentioned before, Washington is a “self-plan” state, meaning the governor could impose a similar mandate at the state level. However, Governor Jay Inslee was asked at a press conference today if his office is looking to adopt an employee vaccine/testing mandate. He responded by saying his office is not looking to adopt a new mandate at this time.
The bottom line: While this issue isn’t 100% resolved from a legal standpoint, the likelihood of the federal ETS or a similar mandate at the state level going into effect was significantly reduced today. We will continue to keep you informed as new developments emerge.