A federal court in the United States has ruled that Biden’s COVID immunization requirement for government workers is unconstitutional.
WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (CSU) – The U.S. The United States A Texas court ruled on Friday that President Joe Biden could not require federal workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, and that the federal government could not sanction those who did not comply.
It was the latest setback in the White House’s attempts to require vaccines for certain categories of American workers.
Biden issued an order requiring around 3.5 million federal workers to get vaccinated by Nov. 22 – barring a religious or medical exception – or risk a penalty or termination.
According to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown, the issue was whether Biden could do so. “Millions of government workers are required to get medical treatment as a condition of employment. Under the present condition of the law, as recently established by the Supreme Court, that is a bridge too far.”
Brown, who was chosen by then-President Donald Trump and is located in Galveston, said that the government could safeguard public health using less intrusive methods like masking and social distance.
The ruling by the court is the latest in a long line of legal decisions that violate government vaccination requirements.
More than 93 percent of federal workers have received at least one vaccine, and 98 percent have been inoculated or are seeking a religious or medical exemption, according to the White House.
“We are confident in our legal authority,” White House spokesman Jen Psaki said in reaction to the judge’s ruling.
On Friday, the Justice Department stated that it will appeal the ruling. The government has argued that similar claims have been rejected by several other courts, and that federal agencies have said that they would not discipline or penalize workers who have pending exemption requests.
The judge remarked that he believes the government will begin punishing non-compliant employees shortly. Earlier this month, the White House announced that it believed federal agencies would begin demanding weekly COVID-19 exams by February 15.
According to court documents, Brian Fouche, a survey statistician with the Department of Commerce with 16 years of government experience, was informed in a letter dated Jan. 19 that he would be suspended for 14 days starting Jan. 30 because he refused to provide his vaccination status.
According to a copy of the letter in court documents, the letter from the United States Census Bureau informed Fouche that his “misconduct is highly severe and will not be tolerated.” According to the letter, failure to comply with the vaccine requirements may result in his dismissal.
The directive only affects federal employees in the executive branch, not postal workers, legislators, or judges.
In mid-January, the United States Supreme Court rejected the president’s COVID-19 vaccination-or-testing requirement for significant companies, deeming it an unconstitutional intrusion on the lives and health of many Americans. The court granted permission for a second federal vaccination obligation for healthcare organizations. more information
A federal court in December postponed a third big vaccination demand targeted at workers of government contractors such as airlines and manufacturing. more information
During the two-year outbreak, COVID-19 killed about 860,000 people in the United States and had a huge economic effect.
Many notable businesses, notably United Airlines and Tyson Foods Inc, have bragged about their success in implementing policies that require almost all of their workers to get vaccinated. Because of the Supreme Court’s decision to reject the requirement for bigger businesses, some companies, such as Starbucks, have suspended employee vaccination obligations. more information
On Friday, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich hailed the decision, pledging to “fight to defend your liberty” in the future.
Tom Hals provided reporting from Wilmington, Delaware, as did David Shepardson, Diane Bartz, and Jeff Mason. The work was edited by Howard Goller, Grant McCool, and Jonathan Oatis.
Our criteria are the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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