A federal court on Tuesday blocked a third vaccination mandate. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia granted a motion by the State of Kansas to place a temporary injunction on the Biden Administration’s policy that required employers to impose COVID-19 vaccine mandate on their employees as a condition for receiving federal contracts.
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt along with 6 other state attorneys general filed the lawsuit on October 29th, arguing that the mandate exceeded federal authority. The preliminary injunction is in effect nationwide.
In the ruling, the court found that the executive order “goes far beyond addressing administrative and management issues in order to promote efficiency and economy in procurement and contracting, and instead, in application, works as a regulation of public health, which is not clearly authorized under the Procurement Act.”
A state law enacted in November requires both public and private sector employers to accommodate employee requests for exemption from COVID-19 vaccine requirements on medical grounds, or that the requirement would violate a “sincerely held religious belief” of the employee. The law also forbids employers from inquiring further into the “sincerity of the request [for religious exemption]” by the employee.
