AGC and Two Chapters File Suit Against Vaccine Mandates

“We are as eager as anyone to see more construction workers become fully vaccinated,” said Stephen Sandherr, AGC’s CEO. “But imposing a strict mandate on a small sector of the construction industry will only drive vaccine-hesitant workers out of that sector, and to one of the many other sectors also desperate for more workers.”

With nearly half of the construction workforce estimated to be vaccine-hesitant, and 89% of construction firms struggling to fill open positions, the new federal contractor mandate will encourage many workers to leave federal contractors for other companies, the association argued.

Instead of boosting vaccination rates within the workforce, the new mandate will leave federal construction projects struggling to reach completion on time and within budget. Nearly 15% of the federal contractors and subcontractors among the association’s members report they have already lost workers because of the new mandate.

AGC’s filing includes a motion for a temporary restraining order and statements from a number of contractors detailing the damages they have already begun to experience because of the new federal contractor vaccine mandate. That mandate is different from the broader vaccine mandate that OSHA has sought to impose on all firms that employ 100 or more people. That rule gives workers the option to be tested weekly, instead of being vaccinated. The AGC filed a legal challenge against that “emergency” OSHA standard in November.

“The federal contractor vaccine mandate is unlikely to increase vaccination rates among construction workers, but it will make it much harder for federal contractors to complete projects,” Sandherr noted. “Making federal construction slower, harder and more expensive won’t improve federal procurement or public health.”

While the AGC challenges the administration’s two coronavirus vaccine mandates, it continues to work to encourage all construction workers to get vaccinated, said Sandherr. The association recently released a series of public service ads featuring construction workers who nearly died from the virus urging their peers to get vaccinated. In addition to a vaccine toolkit for the industry, AGC has been advising its members to show the videos.