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 Below is a selection of some key cases.
Challenges to mandates for students and teachers
More than 500 colleges and universities have imposed vaccine
requirements and lawsuits have been filed against Loyola Marymount
University, George Mason University, University of Massachusetts and
the California State University system.
The only ruling so far involved Indiana University, which was sued
by eight students who claimed their 14th Amendment right to bodily
autonomy and due process was violated by the state university's
requirement.
The students' June 21 lawsuit opposed the innoculation requirement,
as well as alternative masking and testing for students who
qualified for religious and medical exemptions. The students cited a
mix of concerns regarding vaccine efficacy, safety and religious
beliefs.
U.S. District Court Judge Damon Leichty, who was appointed by former
President Donald Trump, said the school was acting reasonably to
protect public health. His ruling only addressed a request for a
preliminary injunction and was not a final decision on the merits of
the case.
The students appealed. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
rejected a request to put the university's vaccine policy on hold
during the appeals process.
Employees fighting termination over vaccination refusal
Many large U.S. employers have recently announced deadlines by which
employees must be vaccinated, including Walmart Inc, Google's parent
company Alphabet Inc and the federal government.
Legal experts have said requiring COVID-19 vaccines would be one way
for an employer to meet its duty to reduce workplace hazards.
However, unlike other more common vaccines, the COVID-19 shot only
has emergency approval and drugs authorized under the law can only
be administered with a patient's informed consent. There are some
legal questions if an employer mandate violates that requirement.
The only ruling to date involved 117 workers at Houston Methodist
Hospital who said they faced wrongful termination for refusing a
COVID-19 shot.
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Their case was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes, an
appointee of former Republican President Ronald Reagan, who
determined the hospital did not violate Texas's wrongful termination
law.
The ruling was appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Challenges to state vaccine requirements
Government mandates have sharply divided Americans, with some states
banning COVID-19 restrictions while the Biden administration has
urged governors to follow protocols such as mask mandates.
Florida enacted on July 1 a law banning businesses, schools and
government entities from imposing "vaccine passports" - or requiring
proof of COVID-19 immunity in return for service.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings sued Florida officials seeking an
injunction against the law, which would fine the company up to
$5,000 for every passenger it denied boarding because of a refusal
to show proof of vaccination.
Norwegian plans to sail from Miami on Aug. 15, its first departure
from the busy cruise port since the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention shut down U.S. cruises in March 2020.
To comply with CDC guidelines and resume sailing, Norwegian attested
that 95% of passengers had been vaccinated.
The state has argued that its law banning so-called vaccine
passports protects against discrimination based on vaccination
status and has said Norwegian could have opted, as competitors did,
to conduct simulated voyages to test COVID-19 protocols.
A hearing on Norwegian's request for an injunction will be heard on
Aug. 6.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Noeleen
Walder and Karishma Singh)
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