Republican Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama signed an executive order late Monday directing state agencies not to enforce federal vaccine mandates.

The governor’s order said that agencies should cooperate with the Alabama attorney general’s lawsuit against the Biden administration, which issued the mandate for federal workers in September. The order adds that no government entity can enforce that mandatory vaccination for employees and that workers will not be required to show proof of vaccination to enter government buildings.

“Alabamians — and Americans alike — should and must have the choice to roll up their sleeves to get this shot and certainly not forced by government,” Ivey said in an accompanying statement. “While President Biden laughs at the idea of protecting your freedoms, I will continue fighting for Alabama businesses and their employees.”

Ivey continued to describe the Biden administration’s actions as an “illegal overreach,” and said that she was “confident we will win the battle in the courts.”

“I am adamantly opposed to federal mandates related to the COVID-19 vaccine and adamantly opposed to state mandates related to the COVID-19 vaccine, plain and simple,” Ivey said. “As long as I am your governor, the state of Alabama will not force anyone to take a COVID-19 vaccine.”

President Joe Biden announced in September that federal employees and government contractors were required to get the coronavirus vaccine. He issued a similar order for approximately 80 million private sector employees, directing the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop a rule requiring that these workers be vaccinated or submit to testing.

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