The state of Alabama has officially filed suit against the Biden administration in an effort to shield federal contractors from the president’s vaccine mandate.
Issued by the White House in early September, Executive Order 14042 dictated that certain federal contractors mandate their respected workforces to become vaccinated against COVID-19.
Alabama has joined six other states in challenging Biden’s vaccine edict in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.
In announcing the lawsuit, Attorney General Steve Marshall (R-AL) asserted that Biden had overstepped the lawful authority granted to the presidency.
“Today, I filed suit to halt President Biden’s lawless and authoritarian federal-contractor vaccine mandate, which is a contemptible infringement upon individual liberty, federalism, and the separation of powers,” advised Marshall.
The attorney general further indicated that the vaccine decree would have adverse consequences for those who opt not to comply with the order.
“Biden has again demonstrated open disdain for the rule of law in seizing power Congress never gave him,” declared Marshall. “And all to impose a mandate that threatens to further wreck our economy and people’s lives by denying countless workers the ability to feed their families simply for daring to oppose this get-jabbed-or-get-fired dictate.”
The lawsuit alleges that the mandate is “untenable” for state agencies that perform contract services for the federal government. The plaintiffs point to the “billions of contracting dollars” that could be in jeopardy if the contractors fail to comply with the executive order.
Marshall made note of the federal government’s recent notice sent to public entities which detailed the mandatory vaccination guidelines. The attorney general contended that the move was “strategically” planned so as to force compliance.
“Within the last ten days, the Biden administration informed a number of Alabama state agencies and institutions that they are subject to his federal-contractor vaccine mandate and must, therefore, force their employees to be vaccinated,” stated the attorney general. “This order was strategically designed with an unreasonable timetable to exert maximum coercive pressure on states—such that they are faced with either vaccinating a large percentage of their public and private workforces in a matter of weeks, or else they are barred from contracting with the federal government.”
Marshall concluded, “I will vigorously oppose this deceitful attempt by Biden to strong-arm the State of Alabama and its people. In just nine months of this administration, we’ve seen repeated, unprecedented attempts from Biden to expand government control over Americans and limit our personal freedoms.”
The lawsuit comes on the heels of the attorney general earlier this week issuing an advisory which concerned employee rights to refuse vaccination on the grounds of religious and medical exemptions. In the advisory, Marshall asserted that employers should “liberally construe,” in the employee’s favor, “any exemption sought by an employee for medical or religious reasons.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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