KY Attorney General Cameron sues to block Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, joined by chief law-enforcement officials from Ohio and Tennessee, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday, challenging the Biden Administration’s mandate that federal contractors get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The mandate was supposed to start Dec. 8, but the White House announced Thursday that it will be delayed until Jan. 4 to make it easier for compliance by businesses and workers.

Also on Jan. 4, health workers at hospitals and facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid are to be vaccinated.

Under a separate policy, companies with 100 or more employees will also have until Jan. 4 to require their workers to be vaccinated or participate in weekly testing. But by Dec. 5, they must require unvaccinated workers to wear masks and undergo weekly testing.

Cameron, a Republican, joined 20 attorneys general last week in a letter to President Biden expressing concerns about the mandatory vaccination requirements and asking the administration to halt the mandate.

Thursday’s 50-page lawsuit involving federal contractors was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. It claims the mandatory vaccination requirement is unlawful and unconstitutional.

“The federal government contracts with private businesses and public agencies in states across the country, and the Commonwealth is no exception, meaning that numerous Kentuckians are subject to the Biden Administration’s unconstitutional vaccination requirement,” said Cameron in a release.

“We are taking the issue of federal overreach seriously and will protect the livelihoods of countless Kentuckians and Kentucky businesses from overbroad mandates.”

In the lawsuit, the attorneys general claim the mandate will cause harm for their respective states and citizens.

Cameron said the U.S. Department of Labor reports that federal contractors account for approximately 20 percent of the country’s entire labor force.

In fiscal year 2021, the federal government awarded $9.3 billion across 32,465 contracts for work done in Kentucky, he said.

The coalition of attorneys general argue that the potential workforce loss among federal contractors presents a significant concern for the economies of their states and could exacerbate ongoing supply chain issues.

Cameron also said many jails in Kentucky contract with the U.S. Justice Department to detain, house, and transport federal prisoners.

Vaccination is encouraged at these facilities but not required, meaning that under the Biden Administration’s mandate, unvaccinated Kentucky workers at these facilities will be forced to receive the vaccine or lose their job, he said.

As a result, the facilities could be faced with the choice between increased worker shortages and the accompanying threat to public safety or the possibility of losing their federal contracts, which provide a significant funding source for each of the facilities, said Cameron.

The attorneys general also argue that the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate violates state sovereignty by preventing the states from exercising their police power to establish laws regarding workforce vaccination policies.

They contend that the mandate is unconstitutional because Congress did not give Biden authority to issue such a broad mandate.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, asked about the lawsuit, said he has not read it. “Any of these steps ultimately get filed and go to court and I’m not going to begrudge anybody who wants to file and have their arguments heard. We’ll see.”

He added that so far the Supreme Court and most federal circuits courts have supported the constitutionality of different vaccine programs to combat the virus.

“In the end we’ve got to follow the law as a state and so we will prepare to comply with anything that is out there. If the court tells us differently, then we will look at our options then.”

This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 2:58 PM.