Will an executive order aimed at ensuring that meatpackers keep operating amid the COVID-19 pandemic override state and local objections or make companies immune from lawsuits?

The order authorizes Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to “take all appropriate action” under the Defense Production Act “to ensure that meat and poultry processors continue operations” consistent with guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on how to protect workers from the virus.

Many legal experts don’t believe the executive order would enable Perdue to require plants to stay open, and there is disagreement over whether the executive order affects companies’ legal liability for worker illnesses or whether Perdue could use his authority to block state and local officials from requiring plants to close, Agri-Pulse reports.

Alex Tomaszczuk, a government contracts partner at Pillsbury in Los Angeles, said he believes the Defense Production Act "preempts state and local law if it is inconsistent with the federal statute.”

“As a practical matter, it is in the interest of the federal government to cooperate with local and state authorities,” Tomaszczuk adds. “The administration will likely issue regulations to implement the order.”