The Biden Administration continues to argue that its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors is legal under federal procurement law that allows the government to take actions to insure an “economical and efficient” system of contracting, government lawyers said in a legal brief filed Jan. 18 to the federal appeals court in Atlanta. It is considering the government appeal of the Dec. 7, 2021 decision of a U.S. district court judge, also in that city, that the mandate is illegal because it imposes a public health regulation.
A group of states and the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) had argued to the lower court against the mandate issued by President Joe Biden last September as an executive order.