Supreme Court won’t exempt Mass. hospital workers from vaccine mandate

The Supreme Court on Monday turned away a group of health care workers who sought exemptions from their Boston-based hospital’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.

The request was denied without comment by Justice Stephen Breyer, who handles emergency matters arising from the region.

The application came from eight employees of Mass General Brigham Inc. who were placed on unpaid leave or fired after refusing to be vaccinated. 

The workers had sought religious or medical exemptions but were denied on an individualized basis. Their employer has granted more than 230 such exemptions in other cases.

Monday’s order comes after the Supreme Court recently rejected challenges to vaccine mandates by Maine health workers, New York City public school teachers and a group of students at Indiana University.