Calling the Shots: Multistate Challenges to Federal Vaccine Mandates

Abstract

Litigation brought by state attorneys general (AGs) successfully frustrated the Biden administration’s efforts to combat COVID-19 by vaccinating American workers. State challenges to vaccine mandates are consistent with trends in multistate litigation that have occurred in recent presidential administrations. At the same time, these cases reveal emerging new trends that shed light on the future of multistate public law litigation and nationwide injunctions. Challenges to vaccine mandates have raised ongoing criticisms of nationwide injunctions and offer a pathway forward for reform.

Keywords: vaccine mandate, multistate litigation, Biden administration, COVID-19, nationwide injunction, state attorney general, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, Health and Human Services, HHS