Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer on Monday rejected a request by health workers to block a large Massachusetts hospital system’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Justice Breyer denied a request for an emergency injunction from workers at Mass General Brigham without an explanation or referring the case to fellow justices, according to the Courthouse News Service.
The hospital started to enforce its vaccine mandate on Nov. 5.
Objecting workers say the rules violate their Title VII rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act because there are insufficient exemptions.
The workers had sought immediate relief while their broader litigation plays out in the lower court.
“By choosing not to violate their sincerely held beliefs or place themselves in physical danger, and losing their jobs as a result, applicants face the continuing inability to feed their children, the continuing loss of any practical ability to work in their professions, constant potential homelessness, and continuing significant emotional and psychological harm,” the workers’ application to the court said.
The request landed on the Supreme Court’s “shadow docket,” in which justices issue orders on emergency petitions.
In October, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to decline halting the enforcement of Maine’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on health workers.
Justices Neil M. Gorsuch, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas would have blocked the mandate.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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