A lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Minnesota by 180 healthcare employees concerning the COVID-19 vaccine mandates of their company owners. The plaintiffs, who were anonymous in the lawsuit, assert vaccine mandates violate religious freedom and state and federal legislation. The legal case is one of the cases that challenge the legitimacy of this kind of mandate.
Vaccines continue to be the most efficient way to avoid the passing on of COVID-19, keep persons from becoming very ill, and lessen the number of people who need to be hospitalized due to the illness. The vaccines are risk-free and are supported by information demonstrating they are very effective at avoiding serious health issues. Most people who are hospitalized and/or pass away from COVID-19 are not vaccinated.
A lot of employers have decided to enforce vaccine requirements and President Biden has stated a vaccine mandate that covers 17 million healthcare employees at facilities that have Medicare and Medicaid funds. Many hospitals have noted high rates of vaccination, as Mayo Clinic stated that 98% of its doctors and 87% of all of its employees were vaccinated.
The Minnesota legal action names nearly two dozen healthcare establishments which include the University of Minnesota Physicians and Mayo Clinic as defendants, in addition to a number of federal health officers. The lawsuit claims that employers are putting a considerable burden on their workers not to exercise their religious-based objection to the COVID-19 immunization or live under the danger of having their religious exemption removed anytime. The lawsuit additionally claims healthcare companies are requiring workers to be immunized to increase their vaccination numbers to obtain more federal financial aid.
Besides having religious arguments to the COVID-19 vaccination, plaintiffs likewise include employees who are expecting a baby, young employees who are not sure if the dangers from vaccination are more serious than the dangers from getting COVID-19, and also people who already got COVID-19. The lawsuit wants a quick injunction from a judge as the vaccination deadline is fast approaching.
Additionally this month, a lawsuit was filed versus the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit regarding its vaccine mandate. Around 50 workers – including doctors, nurses, and other workers – assert the vaccine mandate is unconstitutional and a violation of a person’s bodily freedom. The lawsuit claims employees were given the option of exposing themselves to a possibly dangerous vaccine or letting go of their occupations in healthcare. A temporary restraining order was likewise submitted against Henry Ford Health System trying to stop the hospital system from enforcing its mandate while awaiting the result of the legal action.
Employers that have enforced a vaccine mandate use vaccination as a condition of going to work and will terminate unvaccinated employees except if there is a medical reason. A lot of hospitals and other healthcare services are dealing with the prospect of personnel shortages seeing that the due date for vaccination is coming. Employees at Henry Ford Health System who declined vaccination must be vaccinated by September 10 to prevent suspension and must be vaccinated by October 1 to prevent being fired.