Chris Puri Quoted in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News on SCOTUS and Vaccine Mandates

Bradley attorney Chris Puri was quoted in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News discussing the U.S. Supreme Court and vaccination mandates.

Puri said the CMS rule seems “much more likely” to be allowed to proceed than OSHA.

“The court has a number of tests, such as likelihood of success on the merits,” Puri explained. “But another is irreparable harm. For the court to take steps before a final decision, one party will (have to prove it will) suffer harm that can’t be put back. The opponents’ argument is inherently hamstrung because it’s based on a predictive fact: How many would leave the job. Ask anybody in healthcare: There will be some people who will quit. But you can’t know how many will quit, or the impact. On the other hand, we do know how many have COVID.”

Puri said the final numbers will likely be determined by how the justices view the federal authority.

“I think at the end of the day like administrative law cases, it’s, ‘Do we defer to the government’s judgment,’ whether Labor or CMS, that this is a reasonable thing to do, to approach the problem,” he said. “I don’t think these cases are as complicated legally as we maybe we might have thought. Just substantial and impactful.”

The complete article, "Supreme Court leans toward making healthcare workers choose: Be vaxxed or axed," was published by McKnight's Long-Term Care News on January 10, 2022.