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He responded that the coronavirus was a general risk like terrorism and not a workplace hazard.

“Why not?” Justice Kagan asked, noting that working side by side with other employees for eight hours or more is what happens in the workplace.

But Justice Gorsuch said the agency’s power has been limited to dangers distinctive to the workplace. “Traditionally,” he said, “OSHA has had rules that affect workplace hazards that are unique to the workplace and don’t involve hazards that affect individuals 24 hours a day.”

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. asked whether the court should issue a brief stay while it considers the case, National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor, No. 21A244. He noted that OSHA has said it may start citing businesses for noncompliance on Monday.

Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar, representing the federal government, said she would defer to the court’s judgment but noted that the Monday deadline only concerned record-keeping and masks and that the agency would not enforce the testing requirement until Feb. 9.

Scott A. Keller, a lawyer for a business group challenging the requirements, said that “we need a stay now before enforcement starts.”

“Our members have to submit publicly their plans to how to comply with this regulatory behemoth on Monday,” he said. “Vaccines would need to occur by Feb. 9. You would need two vaccines to comply. Those vaccines would have to start immediately. Tracking and record-keeping cannot happen overnight.”

The second case concerned a measure requiring workers at hospitals and other health care facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The requirement at issue in the case, Biden v. Missouri, No. 21A240, would affect more than 17 million workers, the administration said, and would “save hundreds or even thousands of lives each month.”