On Thursday, a U.S. appeals court panel upheld President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring government civilian employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, by a 2-1 decision, removed an injunction imposed by a federal district court in Texas in January that had prevented implementation of the federal employee vaccination mandate. Biden stated in September that he will compel around 3.5 million federal employees to get vaccinated by Nov. 22 unless they had a religious or medical exemption, or risk penalty or termination.
The White House and Justice Department did not respond quickly.
The Biden administration maintained that the federal trial court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. According to the administration, workers were compelled to file a grievance under the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA).
The plaintiffs “attempt to evade the CSRA’s exclusive review mechanism,” according to the panel majority, and the court refused the “invitation.”
According to the Justice Department’s court papers, federal employee complaints are often heard by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and subsequently by the Federal Circuit appeals court in Washington, D.C.
“The injunction substantially affects the public interest by hindering attempts to prevent COVID-19 disruptions in federal workplaces,” the government’s lawyers wrote in court.
According to the White House, more than 93 percent of federal employees have gotten at least one vaccination, and 98 percent have either been vaccinated or are seeking a religious or medical exemption.
The United States Supreme Court halted Biden’s COVID-19 vaccination-or-testing mandate for major corporations in mid-January, a programme that conservative justices judged an unconstitutional burden on the lives and health of many Americans. A second federal vaccination requirement for healthcare establishments was permitted by the court.
In December, a federal court delayed a third major vaccination demand aimed at employees of federal contractors such as airlines and manufacturers.
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