EXPLAINER: Must employers follow Biden’s vaccine mandates?

By DAVID A. LIEB and GEOFF MULVIHILL
Associated Press

Tens of millions of workers across the U.S. are in limbo as federal courts have issued different rulings related to President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for larger private companies, certain health care workers and federal government contractors. A federal appeals court panel has allowed a vaccine requirement for employers with 100 or more workers, although Republican attorneys general and conservative groups have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. A vaccine mandate for companies that have contracts with the federal government is on hold nationwide, while a separate mandate for health care employees who work for providers that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid funding has been blocked in half the states.