The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the private sector is forcing big companies to take divergent paths, with some requiring shots anyway and others deciding it is not worth the bother.
In doing so, executives are dealing with a patchwork of local rules and double-edged pushback from employees who support or oppose mandates.
Starbucks said it would no longer take steps to ensure workers are vaccinated or face weekly testing after the justices issued a stay against the Biden rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The agency would have imposed the same vaccinate-or-test rule on all companies with 100 or more workers as of Feb. 9.
