On December 19, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the federal contractor and subcontractor vaccine mandate requirements issued in response to Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors (the “federal contractor mandate”).

Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi (the “Plaintiff States”),  sought to enjoin enforcement of Executive Order 14042 with respect to contracts entered into between the three states and the federal government, as well as contracts between private contractors in those states and the federal government. On December 16, 2021, the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana granted an injunction barring enforcement of the federal contractor mandate because it determined the plaintiffs, inter alia, (i) had Article III standing to raise individual claims as federal contractors; and (ii) demonstrated the elements necessary to obtain injunctive relief. The court, however, declined to extend the scope of the injunction to non-plaintiff states or federal contractors.

On appeal, a divided Fifth Circuit panel upheld the preliminary injunction. Similarly to the district court, the appellate court declined to extend the preliminary injunction to private contractors within the Plaintiff States.

The Fifth Circuit held that the federal contractor mandate does not comport with the major questions doctrine, which “serves as a bound on presidential authority” and provides that an agency’s exercise of “powers of vast economic and political significance”—such as enacting a vaccine mandate—must be clearly granted by Congress. The court rejected the federal government’s argument that the federal contractor mandate bears a close nexus to the Procurement Act’s goal of promoting economy and efficiency in government contracting, finding instead that the federal contractor mandate is an “‘enormous and transformative expansion in’ the President’s power under the Procurement Act.”

The Court also found that the Plaintiff States sufficiently demonstrated that they would experience irreparable “nonrecoverable compliance costs” if required to comply with the federal contractor mandate, such as the cost of having to choose between firing valuable employees or foregoing federal contracts.

The Fifth Circuit also dismissed the federal government’s argument that delaying the mandate would result in productivity losses from schedule delays and employees being sick, isolating, or quarantined.  In response, the Court cited to President Biden’s public comment that “[t]he pandemic is over” and held that regardless, “[t]here is generally no public interest in the perpetuation of unlawful agency action.” In contrast to these “abstract” harms, the Court found that the Plaintiff States articulated more concrete harm should the preliminary injunction be lifted, in the form of loss of employees or federal contracts, as well as other administrative compliance costs.

As to the dissent, Circuit Judge James E. Graves, Jr. contended that the federal contractor mandate is within the scope of the President’s broad authority to issue orders to “improve the economy and efficiency of contractors’ operations” pursuant to the Procurement Act. Judge Graves rejected the majority’s reasoning that the federal contractor mandate is impermissible because it seeks to govern the conduct of employees, rather than employers. Further, Judge Graves argued that the major questions doctrine does not apply to the federal contractor mandate because the mandate: (i) delegates power to the President rather than an unelected agency; and (ii) is an exercise of the government’s proprietary authority, and is not an unlawful “‘enormous and transformative expansion in’ regulatory authority.”

We will continue to report on developments to the federal contractor mandate here.

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Photo of Guy Brenner Guy Brenner

Guy Brenner is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and leads the Firm’s Washington, D.C. Labor & Employment practice. He is head of the Government Contractor Compliance Group, co-head of the Counseling, Training & Pay Equity Group and a member…

Guy Brenner is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and leads the Firm’s Washington, D.C. Labor & Employment practice. He is head of the Government Contractor Compliance Group, co-head of the Counseling, Training & Pay Equity Group and a member of the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group. He has extensive experience representing employers in both single-plaintiff and class action matters, as well as in arbitration proceedings. He also regularly assists federal government contractors with the many special employment-related compliance challenges they face.

Guy represents employers in all aspects of employment and labor litigation and counseling, with an emphasis on non-compete and trade secrets issues, medical and disability leave matters, employee/independent contractor classification issues, and the investigation and litigation of whistleblower claims. He assists employers in negotiating and drafting executive agreements and employee mobility agreements, including non-competition, non-solicit and non-disclosure agreements, and also conducts and supervises internal investigations. He also regularly advises clients on pay equity matters, including privileged pay equity analyses.

Guy advises federal government contractors and subcontractors all aspects of Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regulations and requirements, including preparing affirmative action plans, responding to desk audits, and managing on-site audits.

Guy is a former clerk to Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the US District Court of the District of Columbia.

Photo of Jacob P. Tucker Jacob P. Tucker

Jake Tucker is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department.  He represents a diverse range of clients across industries, including professional sports, finance, publishing, education, and real estate.

Jake frequently counsels on a wide variety of employment matters, including workplace investigations…

Jake Tucker is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department.  He represents a diverse range of clients across industries, including professional sports, finance, publishing, education, and real estate.

Jake frequently counsels on a wide variety of employment matters, including workplace investigations, employee leave and accommodation, and policies and practices related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jake also routinely drafts workplace policies and conducts trainings on topics such as discrimination and harassment in the workplace.  As part of his employment litigation practice, Jake has assisted clients in defending against single-plaintiff lawsuits and collective actions in federal and state court, as well as arbitration.

Before joining the Firm, Jake earned a J.D. from Cornell Law School, where he served as an articles editor of the Journal of Law and Public Policy and a member of the Sports & Entertainment Law Society. He also interned in the Labor Relations Department of Major League Baseball and the Law Department for the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center.

Photo of Olympia Karageorgiou Olympia Karageorgiou

Olympia Karageorgiou is an associate in the Labor Department and a member of the Employment Litigation & Arbitration Group.

During her time at Proskauer, Olympia has focused on a wide range of employment matters, including employment discrimination litigation, due diligence, and policies, handbooks…

Olympia Karageorgiou is an associate in the Labor Department and a member of the Employment Litigation & Arbitration Group.

During her time at Proskauer, Olympia has focused on a wide range of employment matters, including employment discrimination litigation, due diligence, and policies, handbooks and training, among others. Olympia has gained experience across a wide variety of industries including financial services, education, sports, and media and entertainment.

Olympia earned her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was co-director of the Clinical Student Board and a member of the Reentry Clinic. While at Yale, she was also Academic Development co-chair of the Yale Black Law Students Association and served as a director of the Rebellious Lawyering Conference.

Prior to law school, Olympia was an AmeriCorps member in Dallas, Texas, focusing on issues related to education and social equity.