CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has helped stop another proposed federal vaccine mandate.
He and AGs from six other states have succeeded in blocking the Biden Administration’s proposed vaccine mandate for federal contractors in what his office calls "another important victory for personal freedom."
In November, Morrisey joined six other states in filing a complaint against President Joe Biden and many federal agencies in response to the COVID-19 vaccination requirement placed on federal contractors. On December 7. a federal judge in Georgia issued a preliminary injunction delaying the mandate from taking effect.
Morrisey
“I’m pleased that the courts continue to take a stand against unlawful vaccine mandates and side with personal freedoms,” Morrisey said. “All citizens – including federal contractors and their employees – have the right to make their own decisions about whether to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Morrisey and the other AGs sued, urging the court to stop Biden, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force and other federal entities from enforcing the mandate on any federal contracting agency, subcontractor, and employee of the states.
The coalition said Biden and the other federal defendants acted unlawfully in many ways. These allegations include overstepping constitutional authority, violating the separation of powers as set forth in the Tenth Amendment and violating the Spending Clause of the United States Constitution.
“All citizens – including federal contractors and their employees – have the right to make their own decisions about whether to receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” Morrisey said when the complaint was filed. “By taking this action, the Biden Administration has forced contractors to choose between firing all unvaccinated employees or standing to potentially lose billions of dollars in federal funding."
West Virginia joined Georgia in filing suit along with Attorneys General in Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, and Utah.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia – Augusta Division case number 1:21-tc-05000