ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½â€™s lawsuit against the federal vaccine mandate is fast-tracked, as a nationwide halt to the mandate’s implementation is limited by another court.
ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ of America’s Construction Advocacy Fund-backed lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas challenging the federal contractor vaccine mandate is moving forward. It had been on hold since December 2021 pending a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. That from the 11th Circuit came on August 26, when that court limited the scope of a nationwide injunction halting implementation of the mandate to only the plaintiffs in that particular case.
Based on that decision, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ is renewing its longstanding request for a preliminary injunction that would shield all ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ members—if not all federal contractors—from enforcement of the Administration’s broad mandate that federal contractors require COVID-19 vaccinations. Per the court’s request, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ will file a status update on Friday, September 2 on its motion for a preliminary injunction. The court could decide on ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½â€™s request as early as next week.
On August 31, issued guidance suggesting agencies to pause the mandate’s implementation for consistency. However, agencies can go forward with these requirements. None have done so to date.
Although ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ of America continues to fight back against the federal contractor vaccine mandate, the association’s broader efforts to support the construction industry’s voluntary encouragement for the use of COVID-19 vaccines remain. ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ of America has put forth a host of construction industry-specific resources on its COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit webpage. The resources include a series of -financed ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ of America created specifically targeting construction workers.
For more information, contact jordan.howard@agc.org or (703) 837-5368.