US Supreme Court blocks Biden's workplace vaccine mandate

The US Supreme Court has blocked President Joe Biden's rule requiring workers at large companies to be vaccinated or masked and tested weekly.

The justices at the nation's highest court said the mandate exceeded the Biden administration's authority.

Separately they ruled that a more limited vaccine mandate could stand for staff at government-funded healthcare facilities.

The administration said the mandates would help fight the pandemic.

It introduced the workplace safety rules in November.

The wider mandate would have applied to workplaces with more than 100 employees and affected some 84 million workers. It was designed to be enforced by employers.

Opponents said the administration was over-stepping its power with the requirements.

In a 6-3 decision, the justices agreed with that argument.

"This is no 'everyday exercise of federal power,'" they wrote. "It is instead a significant encroachment on the lives - and health - of a vast number of employees."