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 Workers who fear losing their jobs for refusing the shots are
turning to the courts. The following are some of the key cases.
- Employees fighting mandates and termination
Many large U.S. employers have announced vaccine mandates, including
Walmart Inc, Google's parent company Alphabet Inc and the federal
government.
Legal experts have said requiring vaccines is one way an employer
can meet its duty to reduce workplace hazards such as COVID-19.
The cases against government employers generally allege that
mandates violate the right to bodily integrity under the 14th
Amendment of the Constitution. Cases against private employers tend
to focus on violations of laws that bar mistreatment based on
disabilities and religious beliefs.
In the first case considering an injunction against a private
employer, a federal judge in Covington, Kentucky, upheld a vaccine
requirement for staff at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, which operates
facilities in the Cincinnati area. The judge said employees could
refuse the vaccine and quit.
Houston Methodist Hospital, which was the first large health system
to impose a COVID-19 vaccine requirement on employees, won quick
dismissal of a case before an injunction was considered.
Gainesville, Florida dropped its mandate covering around 2,200 city
employees and contractors after a Florida judge temporarily blocked
the requirement because the city did not provide evidence it served
a compelling interest. It appears to be the largest mandate to have
been withdrawn.
- Challenges to mandates for students and teachers
More than 500 colleges and universities have imposed vaccine
requirements and many have been challenged in court, sometimes for
denying student requests for a religious exemption.
In the most detailed ruling that is often cited by other courts, a
federal judge said Indiana University acted reasonably to protect
public health by requiring vaccines, or masking and testing. The
judge said students could choose to attend a different school or
postpone their education if they did not want to take a vaccine.
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 Federal courts in similar cases
have sided with the University of Massachusetts,
University of Connecticut and Creighton
University in Nebraska.
A U.S. judge issued an injunction against the
University of Western Michigan requirement for
student athletes because it violated the
students' religious beliefs and the judge found
the school could have achieved the same goals
without inoculations.
 Federal
and state judges upheld New York City's vaccine mandate for
Department of Education employees. A U.S. appeals court briefly put
the policy on hold before allowing it to go ahead.
- Lawsuits over government vaccine requirements
Some states have imposed requirements that healthcare workers to get
COVID-19 vaccines while other states have banned vaccine mandates
for public sector workers. Both approaches have prompted legal
challenges.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was sued over a vaccine
requirement for customers at restaurants, theaters and gyms.
The Montana Medical Association sued to block a state law that
prevents private employers in the state from requiring vaccines for
employees.
In one of the first rulings, a federal judge in New Mexico on Sept.
13 upheld the state's requirement that hospital workers and state
fair attendees be vaccinated, finding the order did not violate a
fundamental right.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd convinced a federal judge in
Miami on Aug. 8 to prevent Florida officials from enforcing a state
ban on "vaccine passports." The ruling allowed the cruise line to
require passengers boarding its ships in Florida to prove they had
been vaccinated, without fear the company would be fined by state
officials.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Noeleen
Walder and Bill Berkrot)
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