Federal workers’ bid to halt shot rule rejected
The judge denied the request for a temporary injunction, saying they did not face irreparable harm if they complied with the mandate.
A judge in Galveston has denied a bid from a group of federal workers seeking an injunction to halt enforcement of the White House’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, saying they had natural immunity from having been infected with the virus.
John J. Vecchione, senior litigation counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance in Washington, D.C., said his team argued it was “arbitrary and capricious” to require vaccinations across the board for all federal employees, because this particular group of workers was not any more dangerous to others than people who have been fully vaccinated. Vecchione says in court documents his clients’ immunity is “at least as robust and durable as that attained through the most effective vaccines.”
Jimmy Rodriguez, who represents the U.S. government on behalf of the Justice Department, declined to comment while the case is pending.
The 11 litigants include a top lawyer at Immigration and Customs Enforcement from Frisco, a Navy technician from Robstown, an air traffic controller from St. Cloud, Fla., a Georgia-based veterinary specialist from the Department of Agriculture, a special agent with the Secret Service from Springfield, Va., and a supervisory air marshal with Transportation Security Administration in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
The suit is directed at Dr. Anthony Fauci, others on the COVID response task force and representatives of other federal agencies tasked with enforcement or supervision of the mandate. The deadline for vaccinations was Nov. 22, and enforcement was set to begin some time after Nov. 29.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown denied the workers’ request for a temporary injunction, saying they did not face irreparable harm if they complied with the mandate and they were unlikely to win their case on the merits. He noted that all but one of the plaintiffs were
pursuing religious exemptions that would allow them to avoid the vaccine. The worker who did not seek an exemption works for ICE; the judge said the civil liberties lawyers had probably erred in failing to sue that agency.
Vecchione said lawyers will likely amend the suit to include ICE. The case will continue on the workers’ complaint against the COVID-19 task force.
The lawsuit is one of several around the country challenging President Joe Biden’s order mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for federal employees “subject to such exceptions as required by law.” The order says workers who don’t comply could face disciplinary action including termination, according to court documents. The Justice Department has already prevailed in the majority of these cases, according to court documents.