On December 7, 2021, a federal judge in Georgia issued a nationwide injunction preventing the Biden administration’s Covid – 19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors from going into effect.  The injunction will remain in place until the court reaches a final decision on the matter, which could take several months.

In ruling in favor of the various states that filed the lawsuit, the court found that President Bidens’s Administration likely exceeded its authority under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act.  The court’s decision specifically noted that the proposed Covid mandate would greatly impact contractors, including Associated Builders and Contractors’ (“ABC”) members and their ability to continue to perform federal contract work.

After the court’s ruling, ABC’s Vice President noted that this was a big win in removing compliance hurdles for the construction industry and that ABC’s participation in the case was essential to obtaining nationwide and construction industry relief, which would have otherwise been limited to the states that sued.

For those of you keeping score, the Biden Administration is 0 for 3 on its Covid mandate efforts.  The OSHA standard and healthcare worker mandates were also stayed after courts issued preliminary injunctions.

We will continue to monitor the Georgia case and we will let you know how the court rules on the federal contractor vaccine mandate.   In the meantime, feel free to give us a call if you have any questions about the court’s ruling.