A group of federal prosecutors are investigating up to $90 billion in suspected CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program fraud across the United States, the Nashville Business Journal reports. The investigation is looking to catch undeserving recipients of emergency stimulus funds approved by Congress as COVID-19 slammed the country's economy. Funding was intended to help employers meet payrolls, supplement state unemployment payments and ease or eliminate fines and fees. By late December, a total of 366 indictments, 294 arrests and 142 convictions had been recorded for a total of more than $460 million so far, according to the Small Business Administration inspector general.

U.S. Judge Jeffrey Brown ruled Friday that the Biden administration may not require federal employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or discipline employees who failed to comply, The Hill reports. The case is about whether the president can, “with the stroke of a pen and without the input of Congress, require millions of federal employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment," Brown wrote. The U.S. Justice Department immediately said it would appeal.

U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw this week denied the state's request for him to set aside his December order blocking a new law that generally bans school districts from implementing mask mandates. The state had asked Crenshaw to defer his decision while it pursues an appeal, the Tennessean reports. Crenshaw instead reaffirmed his initial injunction saying the state has not proven the harm in allowing school districts to make their own decisions. He also questioned the filing saying, the state’s motion reads more like a “motion for reconsideration than a motion to stay" and reminded the state that he provided a “detailed and reasoned basis” for each of his initial conclusions in a 50-page memo released along with the order.

The 2022 ABA Midyear Meeting, which will take place Feb. 9-14, had been scheduled to held in-person in Seattle, Washington. Yesterday, the group’s board of governors decided to transition the meeting to a fully virtual format given the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Watch for updates on the meeting webpage.

The U.S. Supreme Court today blocked a Biden administration policy that would require employees at larger businesses be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus or undergo weekly testing and wear a mask, the Tennessean reports. "Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly," the court wrote. The high court let stand a second vaccine mandate for those employed at health care facilities that receive federal funding through Medicare and Medicaid. That measure will go into effect this month.

A status hearing before federal district court judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. was held today in the case of parents suing the state to allow mask mandates in schools, Actions News 5 reports. Crenshaw previously granted a preliminary injunction of the state law, which bans mask mandates by school districts unless virus caseloads reach certain levels. In related news, Gov. Bill Lee today filed an appeal of Crenshaw’s ruling with the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. In December, Lee filed a motion for a stay of the injunction.

The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in two cases challenging COVID-19 vaccination mandates. For over two hours of debate, the justices appeared skeptical of the administration’s attempt to impose a vaccine-or-test mandate for workers at large employers, Amy Howe writes for SCOTUSBlog. In the second case, which lasted for roughly an hour and a half, the justices seemed more receptive to efforts to impose a vaccine mandate for health care workers at facilities that receive federal funding. Both cases came to the court last month on an emergency basis and, in an unusual move, the justices opted to fast-track oral arguments on the question of whether the mandates can remain in place while challenges to their legality continue in the lower courts. Beyond the subject matter in question, COVID-19 “loomed over the courtroom” as two lawyers arguing against the mandates appeared by phone because they had recently tested positive for the virus.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a Kentucky district court ruling that the president does not have the legal authority to use procurement law to mandate vaccines for the contractor workforce, the Federal News Network reports. A three-judge panel on Wednesday voted 2-1 to uphold the lower court's ruling. In that November decision, Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove found the 1949 Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, a law that gives the president the power to promote “economy and efficiency” in federal contracting, couldn’t be used to justify a vaccine requirement. That decision blocked the mandate in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. Read the appeals court's decision.

Nashville Post’s parent company, FW Publishing, and reporter Stephen Elliott have filed a public records lawsuit against the state seeking access to reports by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., which was awarded a $3 million no-bid contract to assess the state’s COVID-19 recovery. The reports were completed in 2020 but the Lee administration has claimed “deliberative process privilege” to keep from releasing them, the paper reports. The suit argues the public has significant interest “in knowing the entirety of the information provided to Governor Lee.” It is the second suit of its kind. Last month, state employee Thomas Wesley sued in an attempt to gain access to efficiency reports that were part of McKinsey’s work.

Gov. Bill Lee will deny Shelby County’s request to issue a mask mandate, Action News 5 reports. Last week, the county health department said it would ask the state for permission to issue a countywide mask mandate given that the county is reporting the highest case numbers since the pandemic began. In response to the request, the governor’s office said, “Shelby County has reached out to our office. Per Tennessee state law, government mask mandates are not permitted, unless there is a statewide emergency declaration and COVID-19 numbers exceed a specified threshold.” The governor’s spokesperson went on to say Lee has no plans at this time to declare another state emergency based on the fact that while case numbers are high there is no equal increase in the number of hospitalizations.