JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A federal judge in Missouri has issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors from being enforced in 10 states that sued.
The order Monday comes on top of a nationwide injunction against the mandate issued earlier this month by a federal judge in Georgia.
Under orders from President Joe Biden's administration, all new, renewed or extended federal contracts were to include a clause requiring employees to be fully vaccinated Jan. 18.
The contractor requirement is separate from vaccine mandates that Biden also has issued for health care workers and for businesses with more than 100 employees. All face legal challenges.
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Statement from the Nebraska Attorney General
LINCOLN--Today, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri issued a preliminary injunction stopping the Biden Administration from enforcing its vaccine mandate on federal contractors in ten states: Nebraska, Missouri, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
On October 29, 2021, Nebraska co-led a coalition of these ten states in filing a lawsuit to stop that mandate.
“This is significant for federal contractors and their employees in Nebraska,” said Attorney General Peterson. “Today’s ruling immediately prevents the federal government from enforcing this vaccine mandate on federal contractors and their employees in our state. While we anticipate the federal government will seek review by the Eighth Circuit, we are confident that the Biden Administration lacks authority to impose this mandate.”
The court’s preliminary injunction enjoined the Biden Administration from enforcing the vaccine mandate on “federal contractors and subcontractors in all covered contracts in Missouri, Nebraska, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.” This means that employees of federal contractors will not need to be vaccinated in order to keep their jobs and that federal contractors will not need to implement the federal government’s vaccine policies. In enjoining the mandate, the court concluded that President Biden did not have the authority to issue it.
Nebraska is a party to three lawsuits challenging the Administration’s vaccine mandates. Updates on all three lawsuits can be found here.