(Reuters) – U.S. railroad operator Union Pacific Corp said on Thursday it was suspending its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its 31,000 employees, two days after a judge blocked the Biden administration’s inoculation rule for federal contractors.
Union Pacific said 73% of its employees were fully vaccinated as of Dec. 8, adding that it was still encouraging workers to report their vaccination status and get inoculated.
The company and its unions have filed lawsuits against each other after the Nebraska-based railroad made COVID-19 vaccines compulsory under a rule issued by U.S. President Joe Biden for federal contractors.
The rule required contractors to have employees vaccinated by Dec. 8 but that date was later extended to Jan. 18. The order applied to newly awarded contracts, although the government has been asking suppliers to agree to amend existing contracts to insert the vaccine requirement.
On Tuesday, a U.S. District Court judge in Georgia blocked that rule, saying the federal government exceeded its authority.
(Reporting by Ashwini Raj in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
