Starting Monday, unvaccinated employees at big companies will be expected to wear masks to work, unless the Supreme Court blocks that portion of President Joe Biden’s vaccination mandate from taking effect.
After hearing four hours of arguments on Friday, the High Court will reconvene Monday morning at 10 a.m.
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It is important to note that President Biden issued these mandates before the Omicron variant was first detected. That means the recent surge could play a role in the court’s decision.
The masking requirement for unvaccinated workers is the only portion of the law taking effect today. The actual vaccine and testing requirements are on hold until Feb. 9.
One of the mandates requires large private companies to enforce the vaccine, masking and weekly testing. The other mandate requires vaccinations for healthcare workers at facilities that receive certain federal funding.
The court will ultimately decide soon if the Biden Administration has the authority to enforce these specific public health measures.
The two mandates roughly cover two-third of all U.S. workers. According to the White House, that is about 100 million Americans.