by Harriet E. Cooperman and Judith B. Kassel, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP

In early December 2021, a federal judge in Georgia issued a nationwide preliminary injunction halting the enforcement of a federal mandate that would obligate many federal contractors and subcontractors to require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The requirement stems from President Joe Biden’s Executive Order (EO) 14024 calling for the creation of a federal acquisition regulation (FAR) contract clause mandating covered contractor employees to be fully vaccinated. The rule was supposed to go into effect on January 4, 2022, but will be held in abeyance nationwide pending a final determination by the district court. Of course, an appellate court may decide to vacate the injunction. The Biden administration was expected to push back against the district court’s ruling.

Employers’ options

Until further court action, the requirement for covered contractor employees to be fully vaccinated won’t be enforced. We expect additional developments in the short term. For the present, however, private employers, if they so choose, may move forward with enforcing the vaccine mandate in anticipation that the courts ultimately will uphold its validity.

Alternatively, federal contractors and subcontractors may prefer to adopt a wait-and-see approach. We expect that even if the injunction is vacated, the original January 4 deadline for employees to be fully vaccinated will be modified.

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