Starbucks ends vaccine requirement in response to Supreme Court ruling

Starbucks is scrapping its COVID-19 vaccine requirement for U.S. workers after the Supreme Court blocked the Biden’s administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers last week. 

“We respect the court’s ruling and will comply,” Starbucks Chief Operating Officer John Culver wrote in a memo sent to employees on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.

Culver said in the memo that the Seattle company will continue to strongly encourage its employees to get their vaccines and booster shots, according to the AP. 

This reversal comes after Starbucks announced earlier this month that it would enforce a vaccine-or-test mandate for the company’s 220,000 U.S. employees. The original order required workers to be vaccinated by Feb. 9 or undergo weekly testing.

Culver said at the time that the “vaccine is the best option we have, by far, when it comes to staying safe and slowing the spread of COVID-19.”

The Supreme Court last week ruled 6-3 against the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers, blocking it from taking effect while other legal challenges play out.