WHAT WE'RE READING

The morning read for Tuesday, Jan. 18

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at roundup@scotusblog.com.

Here’s the Tuesday morning read:

• Supreme Court justices aren’t ‘scorpions,’ but not happy campers either (Nina Totenberg, NPR)
• Biden’s Vaccine Rules Collide With Supreme Court Willing to Flex Power (Greg Stohr, Bloomberg)
• The Persistent Gender Gap at the Supreme Court Lectern (Adam Liptak, The New York Times)
• Don’t Pack the Court. Allow the Number of Justices to Float. (Scott S. Boddery & Benjamin R. Pontz, Politico)
• Gay marriage Supreme Court plaintiff Jim Obergefell will run for state legislature in Ohio (Sabrina Eaton, Cleveland Plain Dealer)

OPINION ANALYSIS

Justices limit Social Security benefits of “dual-status” technicians in National Guard

Thursday’s decision in Babcock v. Kijakazi resolved a technical question about the Social Security benefits available to a small group of National Guard workers: pre-1984 dual-status military technicians. By an 8-1 vote, the court approved the government’s decision to exclude those workers from a statutory benefit limited to members of the “uniformed services.”

The case involved details of the formula that the Social Security statutes use to calculate monthly benefits. That formula has a special rule that limits Social Security benefits for people with irregular work histories over the course of their lifetime in cases in which they are likely to be receiving pensions for work outside the Social Security system (often work for government or military employers). That limiting rule has an exception, so that the limitation does not apply to payments that are “based wholly on service as a member of a uniformed service.”

WHAT WE'RE READING

The morning read for Friday, Jan. 14

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at roundup@scotusblog.com.

Here’s the Friday morning read:

• How the Supreme Court rules during a pandemic shows what may happen next (Joan Biskupic, CNN)
• The Supreme Court Had No Legal Reason to Block Biden’s Workplace Vaccine Rules (Mark Joseph Stern, Slate)
• A Split Supreme Court Decision on Vaccine Mandates (Editorial, The Wall Street Journal)
• The Supreme Court Goes Anti-Vaxx (Irin Carmon, New York magazine)
• Supreme Court’s Welcome Rejection of Biden’s Covid-Vaccine Mandate (The Editors, National Review)

OPINION ANALYSIS

Fractured court blocks vaccine-or-test requirement for large workplaces but green-lights vaccine mandate for health care workers

With COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations reaching a new record high as a result of the Omicron variant, the Supreme Court on Thursday put the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers on hold, while litigation over its legality continues in the lower courts. Over a dissent from the court’s three liberal justices, the court ruled that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration exceeded its power in issuing the mandate. Congress may have given OSHA the power to regulate workplace dangers, the court explained, but it “has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly.” At the same time, the justices – by a vote of 5-4 – granted the administration’s request to be allowed to temporarily enforce a vaccine mandate for health care workers at facilities that receive federal funding.

SCOTUS NEWS

Court rejects claim of National Guard member in dispute over retirement benefits

The Supreme Court sided with the federal government on Thursday in an arcane dispute over the reduction of Social Security benefits for certain members of the National Guard who are categorized both as civilians and military employees.

In an 8-1 decision in Babcock v. Kijakazi, the court rejected the arguments of David Babcock, who worked as a dual-status technician from 1975 to 2009. In that role, he worked as a test pilot and pilot instructor and also served in the National Guard.