Amtrak suspends vaccine mandate for workers, avoiding service cuts in January

Amtrak is temporarily suspending its vaccine mandate for employees, according to a memo sent out on Tuesday to Amtrak employees from the rail service. The rail service also does not plan to cut services in January.

The change comes after a federal judge in Georgia stopped the enforcement of President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors nationwide. The judge said the mandate exceeded Biden’s authority in issuing executive orders for vaccinations.

“The Court acknowledges the tragic toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought throughout the nation and the globe,” wrote U.S. District Judge Stan Baker. “However, even in times of crisis this Court must preserve the rule of law and ensure that all branches of government act within the bounds of their constitutionally granted authorities.”

"This caused the company to reevaluate our policy and to address the uncertainty about the federal requirements that apply to Amtrak," the memo said.

The announcement comes days after Amtrak had said it might need to reduce services in January unless more employees got vaccinated.

“We anticipate proactively needing to temporarily reduce some train frequencies across our network in January to avoid staffing-related cancellations," said Gardner last week.

At least 95 percent of Amtrak’s 17,000 workers are partially vaccinated, said Amtrak president Stephen Gardner. Fewer than 500 Amtrak employees have not complied with the mandate and would have to get vaccinated before January 4 to comply with the mandate.

Now, Amtrak will revert to its original policy and allow unvaccinated employees to get tested, said Amtrak Chief Executive Bill Flynn.