Supreme Court Rejects Religious Liberty Challenge To New York Vaccine Mandate

The Supreme Court rejected Monday a challenge from New York health care workers who argued their state’s vaccine mandate violated their religious liberty.

The decision is only the most recent example of SCOTUS’ trend of not getting in the way of state-level vaccine mandates. Health care workers sought to obtain exemptions from receiving the vaccine, arguing the mandate forced them to choose between their faith and their jobs, but the court’s 6-3 decision rejected that argument.

The majority did not explain its decision, as is common when the court simply declines to hear a case. The dissenters, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, argued the mandate would only serve to ostracize religious Americans.

“Now, thousands of New York healthcare workers face the loss of their jobs and eligibility for unemployment benefits,” the justices wrote, according to The Associated Press.