January 1, Supreme Court rejects latest challenge to vaccine mandate

The Supreme Court rejected a bid from Maine health care workers to block a vaccine mandate on religious grounds. The statewide order, announced in August by Gov. Janet Mills (D), applies to employees at hospitals, nursing homes, and other health facilities.

Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito dissented with the remainder of the high court.

“Healthcare workers who have served on the front line of a pandemic for the last 18 months are now being fired and their practices shuttered,” Gorsuch wrote, along with the other two dissenters. “All for adhering to their constitutionally protected religious beliefs. Their plight is worthy of our attention. I would grant relief.”

The Christian group Liberty Counsel brought the lawsuit, saying it represented roughly 2,000 employees who opposed the mandate on a religious basis.

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Supreme Court rejects Maine health workers’ challenge to vaccine mandate