This week, 21 Republican state attorneys general sent a letter to President Biden criticizing his Wuhan coronavirus vaccine mandate for federal contractors, calling it “ambiguous and inconsistent” and “nonsensical and confusing.”
In September, the Biden administration unveiled several new vaccine mandates, one of which requires millions of federal contractors to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8. An administration official told Reuters that it was extending the mandate beyond those who are employed in federal buildings. This would affect many U.S. companies with federal contracts, such as airlines.
In the letter, the attorneys general argue that such a mandate for contractors “stands on shaky legal ground” and could contribute to the current supply chain crisis the United States is facing.
“Like other mandates being imposed by the federal government, this mandate stands on shaky legal ground, cannot be reconciled with other messaging provided by the government, and forces contractors unable to make sense of its many inconsistencies to require that their entire workforce be vaccinated on an unworkable timeline or face potential blacklisting by the federal government or loss of future federal contracts,” the letter opens.
“[I]mplementing the mandate now, in the middle of a supply-chain crisis, could have disastrous consequences in light of the approaching holiday season.As the Cargo Airline Association recently informed you, it will be “virtually impossible to have 100% of [the] respective work forces vaccinated by December 8. The ‘virtual impossibility’ of meeting this deadline is not unique to the cargo industry, and the inability of many contractors to guarantee compliance will have significant ramifications to the economy at large,” it continues.
The attorneys general outline several reasons as to why the mandate is “internally inconsistent and at odds” with other messaging and actions from the Biden administration to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“First, the ambiguous and inconsistent nature of the mandate itself raises questions about who it covers. Under the guidance issued by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (‘Task Force’), a ‘covered contractor employee’ required to be vaccinated is any full-time or part-time employee ‘working on or in connection with a covered contract; or working at a covered contractor workplace.’ The guidance defines employees working ‘in connection with a covered contract’ as employees ‘who perform duties necessary to the performance of the covered contract, but who are not directly engaged in performing the specific work called for by the covered contract.’ This language suggests that an employee with even a tangential connection to a covered contract would fall under the scope of the mandate, even if that employee works in an office far from the contract work location.
Moreover, because a ‘covered contractor workplace’ includes any location controlled by a covered contractor where a covered contract employee is likely to be present, entire contractor offices could be required to be vaccinated, even if only one employee has a tangential connection to a covered contract.”
Attorneys general from the following states signed the letter: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
“[T]he federal-contractor vaccine mandate seeks to protect the vaccinated — for whom the risk of severe illness is ‘very low’ — from those who choose to remain unvaccinated. Not only is this reasoning illogical, but it is likely to increase skepticism about the vaccine in those who have chosen not to receive it,” The letter concludes. “All citizens—including federal contractors — should have the right to make their own decision about whether to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. At the very least, you should provide additional guidance addressing the ambiguities and inconsistencies in the mandate, ensure that guidance is applied uniformly, and allow agencies and contractors additional time to comply.”