COVID-19 Workplace Safety - Court Update
On November 30, 2021, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued an order preliminarily enjoining the federal government from enforcing the vaccine mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors in all covered contracts in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. Kentucky v. Biden et al., Civ. No. 3:21-cv-00055-GFVT (E.D. Ky. Nov. 30, 2021). On December 7, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued an order preliminarily enjoining the federal government from enforcing the vaccine mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors in all covered contracts on a nationwide basis. State of Georgia v. Biden et al., Civ. No. 1:21-cv-163 (S.D. Ga. Dec. 7, 2021). Both injunctions are preliminary and could be modified or vacated by the court, and both injunctions are subject to review by a federal appellate court. Given both the uncertainty caused by the preliminary injunction and the advance work needed to implement the vaccine mandate, Union Pacific is complying with the temporary suspension while also preparing for the possibility the controversy is resolved in the mandate’s favor. Union Pacific encourages its contractors to evaluate each development in these matters and act in accordance with that evaluation.