PAXTON: Texas State Law & Gov. Abbott's Directives vs. Fed­er­al Vac­cine Mandates

Last Updated: Feb.07, 2022

Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas – Attorney General Ken Paxton’s position is clear – the governor’s orders and state law apply to all Texans and protect their right to make healthcare decisions for themselves and their family. Below are the current litigating cases:

Texas Governor Executive Orders

Executive Order GA-38  
Executive Order GA-40

Texas Attorney General Lawsuits Against the Federal Government

Occupational Safety and Health Administration Lawsuit

Status: Vaccine mandate on employers with 100 or more employees rescinded after Supreme Court stayed enforcement  

Attorney General Paxton and several allied states and companies sued the Biden Administration for its illegal and unconstitutional vaccine mandate imposed on private businesses. As part of his COVID-19 Action Plan announced in early September, President Biden committed to requiring all private employers in America with 100 or more employers to force their employees to get vaccinated or submit to a weekly testing regime. Attorney General Paxton secured a stay against enforcement of the mandate in the Fifth Circuit. Texas’ case was consolidated with other similar challenges in other states. The Supreme Court of the United States ultimately agreed that enforcement of the mandate should continue to be stayed, holding OSHA lacked authority to compel vaccine mandates through an “emergency temporary standard.” The Biden Administration has since withdrawn its unconstitutional mandate.

Federal Contractor Lawsuit

Status: A nationwide injunction prohibits enforcement of the Biden Administration’s mandate requiring employers with federal contracts to force vaccinations on their employees  

Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden Administration over its directives to federal agencies to institute requirements that employers with federal contracts to force vaccinations on their employees. While the court considered Texas’ request for an injunction against the Biden Administration, a separate federal district court in Georgia issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the federal-contractor vaccine mandate. Because this injunction provided the exact relief sought by Texas, the trial court has not ruled on Texas’ request for injunctive relief. On appeal, the Sixth Circuit denied the federal government’s request to stay the trial court’s injunction. Texas will continue to support these challenges to the federal contractor vaccine mandate.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Lawsuit

Status: Supreme Court upheld Biden Administration’s vaccine requirement imposed on employees of healthcare facilities that receive Medicaid or Medicare funding  

Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden Administration challenging a vaccine mandate handed down by the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services—the federal agency the administers the Medicaid and Medicare programs—imposing an unprecedented federal vaccine decree on nearly every full-time employee, part-time employee, student, intern, volunteer, and contractor working at a wide range of healthcare facilities receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding. The court granted Texas’ motion for a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of the mandate within the state, after which the Fifth Circuit enjoined enforcement of the mandate in a total of 14 states. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court granted the federal government’s request to stay the injunction, holding the vaccine mandate falls within CMS’s authority.

Head Start Lawsuit

Status: Texas attained a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of a vaccine-and-mask mandate on staff and volunteers of the Head Start Program 

Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration after it required staff and volunteers for the Head Start Program—a federally funded program that promotes the school readiness of children from birth to age five from low-income families—to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by January 31, 2022. The mandate further required all participating program parents, staff, volunteers, and children over 2 years of age to wear a mask while attending school. The court granted Texas’ request for a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of the mandate in Texas.

Texas Army Nation­al Guard and the Texas Air Nation­al Guard Lawsuit

Status: Texas has sued to stop forced vaccination of the Texas Air and National Guard

On behalf of Governor Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden Administration over the U.S. Department of Defense’s attempt to force vaccination of all National Guard personnel despite the federal government’s limited authority over national guardsmen, who perform their duties under the command and control of the Governor. Texas remains in active litigation at the trial court. 

Federal employees lawsuit  

Status: A Texas federal court has issued a nationwide injunction prohibiting enforcement of vaccine mandate on all federal employees 

Feds for Medical Freedom, a Nevada nonprofit comprised of thousands of employees of federal agencies formed to oppose the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate on all federal employees, sued the Biden Administration in Texas. The court issued a nationwide injunction, ruling that President Biden exceeded his authority in forcing federal employees to receive vaccinations. Although Texas was unable to bring this lawsuit because the state lacks standing to represent the interests of federal employees, Attorney General Ken Paxton supports and applauds this effort by federal-government employees to defend their personal liberty.