Texas Court Blocks Enforcement of the Vaccine Mandate

A Texas federal judge on Friday blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a vaccine mandate for federal employees

As you know, on September 9, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order requiring all federal workers be vaccinated against COVID-19. The mandate required a full vaccination deadline of November 22, 2021; and failure to comply would have resulted in an employee’s suspension, and ultimately termination. A moratorium on discipline was then issued prior to the holiday season, and IRS resumed enforcement of the mandate after the Holidays, issuing three-day suspensions to non-compliant employees.

However, on January 21, 2022, a federal judge in Texas blocked the enforcement of the vaccine mandate on all federal government employees. The government has since filed an appeal of the Texas decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which could reverse the decision of the Texas Judge. While litigation of the mandate continues, at this time, all federal agencies are required to comply with the Texas Court decision, stopping enforcement of the mandate. This means that, at this time, the federal government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 (vaccine mandate). Below are some frequently asked questions and answers, provided by the federal government, regarding the status of the vaccine mandate, following the injunction imposed by the Texas Court.

Though the Texas Court has temporarily stopped enforcement of the mandate, NTEU maintains that there is no viable path forward to any legal challenge to the federal employee vaccine mandate, and that the Texas Court decision is not likely to survive legal challenges in higher courts. NTEU 73 will continue to update members on developments as they arise.

Q: Can agencies continue to require and receive submission of vaccination information and documentation (including proof of primary series vaccination, additional doses, and booster shots) from employees to maintain, review, and use that information and documentation for the purposes of implementing safety protocols based on vaccination status such as masking, distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine?

A: Yes, agencies can continue to require and receive submission of vaccination information and documentation (including proof of primary series vaccination, additional doses, and booster shots) from employees and potential employees who have received an offer of employment, and maintain, review, and use that information and documentation for the purposes of implementing safety protocols based on vaccination status such as masking, distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine. This includes reviewing vaccination documentation and information that was submitted to the agency during implementation of the mandate, prior to issuance of the injunction, for the purposes of using that information to implement other safety protocols that are based on vaccination status. If an employee does not submit their vaccination information and documentation, they should be treated as not fully vaccinated for the purposes of implementing safety protocols that are based on vaccination status.

Q: Can agencies continue to process requests for disability or religious exceptions to the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043 while the applicable preliminary nationwide injunction is in place?

A: No, agencies should not continue to process requests they have already received for disability or religious exceptions to the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to the vaccine mandate. They also should not ask employees for additional information that may be required to process previously submitted exception requests, or take any other steps related to adjudication of exception requests. Agencies also should notify employees with pending exception requests that implementation or enforcement of the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to the vaccine mandate is currently enjoined and that an exception therefore is not necessary so long as the nationwide injunction is in place.

Q: What should agencies do regarding disciplinary actions already in progress associated with enforcement of the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043 while the applicable preliminary nationwide injunction is in place?

A: Agencies should hold in abeyance all disciplinary actions related to enforcement of the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to the vaccine mandate. This includes temporarily halting active suspensions as of January 21, 2022 and holding proposals to suspend or terminate non-compliant employees in abeyance.

Alex Walker