Court blocks Covid vaccine mandate for US government employees
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — President Joe Biden’s order to vaccinate federal employees against COVID-19 was blocked by a federal appeals court on Thursday.The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans … A federal appeals court in New Orleans has blocked President Joe Biden's order to vaccinate federal employees against COVID-19, a mandate issued by a federal judge in January 2022. The ruling upholds an injunction blocking the mandate, which the administration said nearly 98% of covered employees had been vaccinated. 16 full-time judges at the time the case was heard, including two nominated by President Bill Clinton, voted to overturn the ruling and reconsider it. Opponents of the policy said it was an interference in the lives of federal employees that neither the Constitution nor federal law allow. The broader court majority agreed, saying the federal law does not preclude jurisdiction over cases involving “private, irreversible medical decisions made in consultation with private medical professionals outside of the federal workplace.
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — President Joe Biden’s order to vaccinate federal employees against COVID-19 was blocked by a federal appeals court on Thursday.
The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans rejected arguments that Biden, as the nation’s chief executive, had the same authority as the CEO of a private company to require employees to be vaccinated.
The decision of the full Circuit Court of Appeals, 16 full-time judges at the time the case was heard, overturned an earlier decision by a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit that had upheld vaccination requirements. Judge Andrew Oldham, who was nominated to the court by then-President Donald Trump, wrote the opinion for a 10-strong majority.
The ruling maintains the status quo for vaccines for federal employees. It upholds an injunction blocking the mandate issued by a federal judge in January 2022. At that point, the administration said nearly 98% of covered employees had been vaccinated.
And, as Oldham noted, the case with the injunction arguments will return to that court for more arguments when “both sides have to deal with the White House’s announcement that the COVID emergency will finally end on May 11, 2023.” “.
Opponents of the policy said it was an interference in the lives of federal employees that neither the Constitution nor federal law allow.
Biden issued an executive order in September 2021 mandating vaccinations for all executive agency employees, with exceptions for medical and religious reasons. The requirement occurred the following November. US District Judge Jeffrey Brown, appointed by Trump to the District Court for the Southern District of Texas, issued a statewide injunction against the requirement the following January.
The case then went to the 5th circuit.
A panel of three Fifth Circuit judges refused to block the law immediately.
But another panel, after hearing arguments, upheld Biden’s position. Justices Carl Stewart and James Dennis, both nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton, were in the majority. Justice Rhesa Barksdale, nominated by President George HW Bush, disagreed, saying the relief sought by the challengers is not covered by the government-cited Civil Service Reform Act.
The broader court majority agreed, saying the federal law does not preclude jurisdiction over cases involving “private, irreversible medical decisions made in consultation with private medical professionals outside of the federal workplace.”
A majority of the entire court voted to overturn that judgment and reconsider the case. The 16 active judges heard the case on September 13, along with Barksdale, who is now a senior judge with lighter duties than the court’s full-time members.
Judge Stephen Higginson, a candidate for former President Barack Obama, wrote the main dissenting opinion. “For the wrong reasons, our court is right to conclude that we have jurisdiction,” Higginson wrote. “But unlike a dozen federal courts — and after we left a government motion to keep the district court’s injunction pending for more than a year — our court still refuses to say why the president doesn’t have the authority to see the regulate occupational safety for its employees. ”
Topik: Coronavirus