On September 9, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to issue a slate of federal vaccine mandates to impact nearly every American worker. The President declared that federal employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19, including members of the U.S. military. He also announced a requirement for all healthcare workers.
The Biden Administration’s mandates did not end with government employees or healthcare workers. The President went far beyond his already questionable legal authority in this area to require U.S. employees of private businesses to be vaccinated just because their employer has a contract with the federal government. This mandate, unlike the requirement for other private businesses under OHSA, does not allow for a testing alternative. The edict impacts an estimated one-fifth of the U.S. workforce.
Shortly after the President issued Executive Order 14042, multinational company 3M announced that its 40,000 U.S. employees would be required to comply with the order. Simply put, because 3M holds contracts with the federal government, any employee who does not get the COVID-19 shots will lose their jobs.
Now four 3M workers in Texas and Minnesota are standing up to stop this illegal vaccine mandate. With the help of attorneys at the Liberty Justice Center, three employees of the Brownwood, Texas, facility and one employee in Hutchinson, Minnesota, sued President Biden and other executive branch officials to stop this illegal federal vaccine mandate.
These employees personally object to the vaccine requirement. They believe the President’s contractor mandate is illegal and they do not believe they should be required to share their vaccination status with their employer, 3M.
Liberty Justice attorney Buck Dougherty is representing the plaintiffs, four 3M employees who are designated as being covered by the Federal Contractors Mandate pursuant to Executive Order 14042, which 3M has implemented by requiring its employees choose between being vaccinated or losing their jobs, and furthermore, compelling them to engage in political speech by requiring them to disclose their vaccination status.
The lawsuit is part of a larger effort to stop the Biden Administration from imposing illegal vaccine mandates on huge portion of Americans. These mandates are outside of his legal authority and the authority given to executive departments and agencies. The Liberty Justice Center is proud to represent other workers and business owners challenging mandates on healthcare workers and private businesses.
Buck Dougherty is a Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, where he litigates in trial and appellate courts on behalf of everyday citizens in order to protect their civil liberties and preserve their constitutional rights.