Last Updated: Jun 14, 2021
A federal court has ruled in favor of a Texas hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement for its employees.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas dismissed a lawsuit brought against Houston Methodist Hospital by over 100 of the hospital’s employees. Houston Methodist had suspended the employees without pay for their failure to receive COVID-19 vaccines per the hospital’s employment requirements. The employees filed a suit challenging the hospital’s legal ability to mandate COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of continued employment.
In a ruling, authored by U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes, the court called the plaintiffs’ claims that COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous and akin to medical experimentation, “false.” Specifically, the Court noted that Houston Methodist is trying to do their business of saving lives without giving its patients the COVID-19 virus, employees can freely choose whether to receive COVID-19 vaccination; however, if they choose not to, they will simply need to work somewhere else. The court ultimately held that the hospital’s requirement for employees to get vaccinated did violate Texas law, federal law, or public policy.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released guidance stating that federal law does not prevent an employer from requiring all employees physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated for COVID-19, subject to certain reasonable accommodations and other considerations.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs have indicated that an appeal is likely. The Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) will continue to monitor the case and update members of additional developments.