Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican, has signed an executive order barring state agencies from enforcing President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates on state employees.
While Ricketts encouraged Nebraskans to get the COVID-19 vaccine, he insisted it’s a personal health decision and “not one that should be coerced.”
“We’ve already made the decision that state teammates at the State of Nebraska won’t be forced to take the vaccine. This order takes the next step and bars cabinet state agencies from complying with coronavirus vaccine mandates from the federal government or other parties,” Ricketts added.
OSHA Mandate
In September, President Joe Biden announced that the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would develop an emergency rule for a vaccine mandate with a weekly testing option for businesses with 100 or more employees. It’s estimated that the mandate, which remains under review, would cover about two-thirds of the private-sector workforce.“The rule will be finalized soon, but we know businesses are already acting,” Zients said at an Oct. 27 briefing.
Nineteen states have sued the Biden administration over the federal employee vaccine mandate, arguing that it violates federal procurement law and is an overreach of federal power. The states also argue that the mandate violates the 10th Amendment that separates the power between federal and state governments; uses federal spending to coerce the states, which is unconstitutional; and did not properly allow for 60 days of public comment.
The Biden administration did not respond to numerous requests for comment.
The order prohibits any Cabinet executive branch agency from entering into contracts or signing memorandums of understanding that impose COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
His order, which goes into effect immediately, also encourages all other executive branch agencies to follow suit.