https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a244_hgci.pdf
“But a vaccine mandate is strikingly unlike the workplace regulations that OSHA has typically imposed. A vaccination, after all, “cannot be undone at the end of the workday.” (7).
“It is telling that OSHA, in its half century of existence, has never before adopted a broad public health regulation of this kind—addressing a threat that is untethered, in any causal sense, from the workplace. This “lack of historical precedent,” coupled with the breadth of authority that the Secretary now claims, is a “telling indication” that the mandate extends beyond the agency’s legitimate reach.” (8).
“Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly. Requiring the vaccination of 84 million Americans, selected simply because they work for employers with more than 100 employees, certainly falls in the latter category.” (9).
“As the agency itself explained to a federal court less than two years ago, the statute does “not authorize OSHA to issue sweeping health standards” that affect workers’ lives outside the workplace.” (13).
“Sometimes lawmakers may be tempted to delegate power to agencies to “reduce the degree to which they will be held accountable for unpopular actions.” (14).
“OSHA would become little more than a “roving commission to inquire into evils and upon discovery correct them.” (15).
“The question before us is not how to respond to the pandemic, but who holds the power to do so. The answer is clear: Under the law as it stands today, that power rests with the States and Congress, not OSHA.” (15-16)
“Further, the Standard does not apply in a variety of settings. It exempts employees who are at a reduced risk of infection because they work from home, alone, or outdoors…It makes exceptions based on religious objections or medical necessity.” (19).
“…the Court argues that OSHA cannot keep workplaces safe from COVID–19 because the agency (as it readily acknowledges) has no power to address the disease outside the work setting.” (22).
We'll have to see how businesses react. Unfortunately, they still have the power to make their own mandates as companies. If a company stands for something that the courts have declared unconstitutional, it will be interesting to see how employees and employers respond. Grab your popcorn.