U.S. President Joe Biden Photo credit REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
By a 2-1 vote, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted an injunction issued by a U.S. district judge in Texas in January that had blocked enforcement of the federal employee vaccine mandate. Biden said in September he would require about 3.5 million government workers to get vaccinated by Nov. 22, barring a religious or medical accommodation, or face discipline or firing.
The Biden administration argued the federal trial court had no power to hear the dispute. The administration told the appeals court that employees were required to raise their grievance through the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA).
The panel majority said the plaintiffs “seek to circumvent the CSRA’s exclusive review scheme” and that the court declined the “invitation.”
In mid-January, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Biden’s COVID-19 vaccination-or-testing mandate for large businesses, a policy conservative justices deemed an improper imposition on the lives and health of many Americans. The court allowed a separate federal vaccine requirement for healthcare facilities.
Navy Vet
Article URL : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-court-reinstates-biden-federal-employee-covid-vaccine-mandate-2022-04-07/