Today, a federal district court in Georgia stayed the federal contractor vaccine mandate nationwide expanding on the three-state stay entered in Kentucky last week. Acknowledging that COVID-19 vaccines are effective and the fact that the pandemic has taken a tragic toll, the Court advised that it, “must preserve the rule of law and ensure that all branches of government act within the bounds of their constitutionally granted authorities.” The Court further stated that it was likely the parties seeking the injunction would succeed in their claim that the President exceeded the authorization given to him by Congress when issuing Executive Order 14042 through which the federal contractor vaccine mandate originated.
At this point, all three vaccine mandates which formed the Biden administration’s “Path out of the Pandemic” plan are paused. As developments evolve in the related appeals of the respective court orders, updates will be provided. In the meantime, employers can pause any efforts to comply with these mandates but will want to be mindful of developments on the state law level as identified in our prior post.