Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins expressed concern Friday over the Biden vaccine mandate, and said that he is working to address the issue.
“I love our employees and will do whatever is required to make sure they are secure in their jobs,” Collins said in his regular weekly newsletter on November 12. “I had a tough realization on Sunday evening while preparing for our city council meeting. I was reading about a homeland security grant we received while listening to the news about the Biden Administration vaccine requirement that all employers with 100 employees must follow.”
Collins estimated that the City of Cheyenne as having approximately 500 employees, and thus may fall under the mandate.
“I met with legal staff on Wednesday to learn what our responsibilities are, and what the potential time frames could be,” Collins reported in his newsletter, although he did not give details.
Wyoming is among a coalition of ten states that filed a lawsuit on Wednesday that Governor Mark Gordon’s office said “seeks to prevent the Biden Administration from enforcing the mandate on healthcare workers.”
The state has also joined lawsuits that challenge other Biden Administration vaccine mandates. That includes a suit filed on October 29 challenging the vaccine mandates on federal contractors and federally contracted employees.
“Wyoming is currently awaiting a ruling on a request for a temporary injunction in the case,” Gordon’s office said.
Another lawsuit challenges the Occupational Safety and Health Administration emergency temporary standard, which mandates vaccines on employees of businesses with over 100 employees.
The Wyoming Department of Health provides COVID-19 case, variant, death, testing, hospital and vaccine data online. The department also shares information about how the data can be interpreted. COVID-19 safety recommendations are available from the CDC.
