Amtrak is suspending its employee vaccine mandate days after the company's president said service could be disrupted.

Amtrak was complying with the Biden administration executive order that mandated large companies require their employees to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4.

However, that policy is on hold while it faces court challenges.

According to The New York Times, Amtrak will allow employees to get tested weekly for the virus, which was its previous policy.

Amtrak reports that 97% of its employees have either received a vaccine or are exempt.

The Times reports that Amtrak employees who refuse to comply with the new policy will be placed on unpaid leave.

Many states are facing a surge in cases, and there are fears that the omicron variant will accelerate COVID's rise.

The U.S. marked a grim milestone of 800,000 deaths due to COVID on Tuesday.

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the Biden administration from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors.

The mandate was scheduled to take effect in January.

In balancing the harms of letting the mandate take effect or issuing an injunction, U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker said an injunction would maintain the status quo.

However, he said allowing the mandate to take effect "would significantly alter their (the plaintiff's) ability to perform federal contract work which is critical to their operations."

Biden's vaccine mandates have repeatedly been blocked by courts.

Last week, a federal judge blocked a mandate for federal contractors in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee to get vaccinated.

A different judge also blocked a mandate for health care workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

The White House has not addressed how it plans to respond to Tuesday's ruling.

Citigroup is the first large U.S. bank to require its workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

In a post on LinkedIn, Sara Wechter, head of human resources for the company, said the vaccine mandate allows Citi to comply with President Biden's executive order that requires vaccinations for government contractors.

Wecher added that "having a vaccinated workforce enables us to ensure the health and safety of our colleagues as we return to the office in the U.S."

According to CNN, Citi will give workers $200 if they submit proof of vaccination by Dec. 8.

Employees will still be able to show proof of vaccination until Jan. 14 without facing consequences.

Wechter says exemptions for medical or religious reasons will be evaluated on an individual basis.