Supreme Court Declines Employment Law Cases on Disability, COVID Mandates

HR Dive · United States · Oct 7, 2026

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear several employment law cases at the start of its 2026–2027 term, passing on disputes involving disability discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act, COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandates, DEI-related Title VII claims, and NLRB bargaining authority. Key unresolved issues include whether Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act covers independent contractors and whether religious accommodation requests were properly handled under Title VII. The court also declined to revisit NLRB deference questions tied to the Loper Bright ruling. Staffing firms and employers relying on federal appeals court precedent for compliance guidance will need to monitor circuit-level decisions, as no Supreme Court uniformity is forthcoming on these issues in the near term.