VERTEX was retained by the Association of General Contractors (AGC) and worked with Crowell & Moring LLP to prepare an expert declaration on the likely consequences President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) 14042 would have on the cost and efficiency of federal construction work. EO 14042, issued on September 9, 2021, required parties contracting with the federal government to comply with prescribed COVID-19 workplace safety requirements. This would mandate that all contractors and subcontractors (of any tier) that work on covered federal construction contracts have a workforce fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and that these covered contractors designate an individual to administer the compliance of such requirements. Declarations on behalf of AGC were also made by other industry construction leaders from AGC, Dee Brown, Inc., Whitesell-Green, Inc., Sargent Corporation, Harper Construction, Caddell Construction, and JMJ Construction Company, Inc..
VERTEX’s declaration reviewed construction labor and economic indicators, industry fragmentation, construction spending, workforce trends, construction cost factors, productivity and delay factors, potential economic impacts to contractors, and potential unintended consequences of the EO.
On December 7, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued an injunction on the enforcement of the vaccine mandate of EO 14042 nationwide. The EO is currently on appeal to the 11th Circuit.
