A federal district court judge in Texas granted a preliminary injunction against President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring all federal workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be subject to getting fired.
Judge Jeffrey Vincent Brown in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District ruled for the plaintiffs in the case Feds for Medical Freedom v. Biden, writing that the order would be a “bridge too far” and pose a substantial threat to irreparable harm over the “liberty interests of employees.”
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“No legal remedy adequately protects the liberty interests of employees who must choose between violating a mandate of doubtful validity or consenting to an unwanted medical procedure that cannot be undone,” Brown wrote in the order. “This case is not about whether folks should get vaccinated against COVID-19 — the court believes they should.”
Brown also said he believes it’s likely plaintiffs representing federal workers will succeed in challenging Biden’s order on constitutional grounds.
“Today’s decision by Judge Brown is a victory for the thousands of men and women who want to serve their government without sacrificing their individual rights,” said Marcus Thornton, CEO of Feds for Medical Freedom.
The group represents more than 6,000 federal workers who want to continue employment “without being subjected to unconstitutional mandates,” Thornton added.
Plaintiffs also requested the judge to pause Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors but were denied, with Brown citing a lower court decision that already blocked the policy.
Brown’s preliminary injunction on Friday cited the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this month blocking a vaccine-or-test mandate for workers of large businesses.
In December, the White House reported data showing 97% of federal employees have complied with the vaccine mandate and that 92.5% have had at least one vaccine dose.
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Biden announced in September more than 3.5 million federal workers would be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 without the alternative for testing unless workers secured religious or medical exemptions.
The Justice Department said it would appeal the ruling.
