The Justice Department reached a settlement with a group of federal employees and contractors who sued the Biden administration in December 2021 over COVID-19 jab mandates. “This settlement marks a significant victory for individual rights and serves as a powerful, implicit acknowledgment of the government’s overreach, achieved through Feds For Freedom’s relentless pursuit of justice,” Feds For Freedom stated in a press release. “As part of the settlement, the federal government must expunge COVID-19 vaccine status records, prohibit discrimination based on vaccine status, and reimburse a portion of Feds for Freedom’s legal fees,” it continued. BIG WIN: The federal government will no longer financially reward hospitals for reporting the vaccination rates of their staff, @HHSGov announced on Aug. 1. According to the press release, the incentive system was “coercive and denied informed consent.” “Medical decisions… pic.twitter.com/UEiXPlG2Wl — Children’s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) August 7, 2025 “Our victory is a long-overdue confirmation of what we have asserted all along: COVID mandates were unconstitutional, immoral, and un-American. Patriotic Americans, including Feds For Freedom, proudly held the line against an unprecedented attack on our most basic freedoms, withstanding years of relentless assault by petty tyrants determined to destroy our constitutional republic,” Feds For Freedom President Marcus Thornton said. The Defender has more: The federal government did not admit wrongdoing, but the settlement terms “represent a tacit acknowledgment of the harm caused by the Biden mandate,” Feds For Freedom said. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has 60 days to issue a directive mandating the destruction of all information related to federal employees’ COVID-19 vaccine status, non-compliance with the mandate, or exemption requests from personnel files, unless an employee opts out, according to the settlement. The agreement contains “transformative measures to rectify past harms” and “delivers unprecedented protections for federal workers and sets a critical precedent for safeguarding personal medical choices, religious freedoms, and Constitutional rights,” Feds For Freedom stated. Kim Mack Rosenberg, general counsel for Children’s Health Defense, said the outcome “carries with it significant protections for federal workers.” She added: “As some of the authoritarian measures put in place by the Biden administration continue to be rolled back, federal employees have greater assurances that their individual healthcare decisions will remain private and will not impact employment — as should be the case for every American. “COVID-19 mandates did tremendous damage. This settlement is a positive step in righting some of those wrongs. I hope it has a far-reaching impact and resonance beyond federal workers.” “HUGE WIN! After 3 years, our COVID vaccine lawsuit on behalf of @feds4freedomusa has led to a sweeping settlement,” Boyden Gray PLLC wrote. “Federal agencies can’t punish employees based on COVID vax status. Vax records must be deleted from personnel files—unless employees opt out. This ends the Biden-era mandate nightmare for good. Freedom wins the day,” it added. HUGE WIN! After 3 years, our COVID vaccine lawsuit on behalf of @feds4freedomusa has led to a sweeping settlement: Federal agencies can’t punish employees based on COVID vax status. Vax records must be deleted from personnel files—unless employees opt out. This ends the… — Boyden Gray PLLC (@BoydenGrayPLLC) August 7, 2025 Daily Caller added further details: The group expects agencies to supply certificates of destruction to confirm expungement. The group also signaled it would assist federal workers in submitting Freedom of Information Act requests and Privacy Act requests to verify. The government will also pay a monetary settlement reimbursing some of the group’s legal fees, though some of the case was pursued pro bono. Weidle said she was “thankful but not fully satisfied” with the outcome. She pointed to what she said were mixed messages from the Trump administration, with President Donald Trump on Wednesday praising Operation Warp Speed, the 2020 sprint to develop COVID-19 vaccines, within hours of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announcing he would pivot the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority away from the mRNA platform. “But this is huge that we’ve gotten this far. Even a quiet acknowledgement from the federal government is remarkable considering that just last year the retaliation was continuing,” she said. The DCNF revealed earlier this year that of the four outside advisors handpicked by Biden’s health officials to weigh in on the mandate, the majority recommended against a two-dose mRNA vaccine mandate for individuals with natural immunity. Read the full press release below: