Federal judge dismisses anti-vaxxer lawsuit — sides with Texas hospital

After a hospital followed through on its warning to suspend and terminate any employee who did not abide by its mandatory vaccination policy, anti-vaxxers attempted to pursue a lawsuit. The employees involved in the suit claimed that it violated their rights to be told by an employer that they must be vaccinated. But, despite their confidence that the Houston Methodist hospital did not have the right to require them to be vaccinated in order to work, they were wrong.

In the country's first ruling on vaccine mandates, a Texas judge dismissed the lawsuit creating a precedent for similar cases nationwide. In the lawsuit employees of the Houston Methodist, one of the first hospital systems in the country to require all employees to be vaccinated, attempted to challenge the company's mandatory vaccination policy. The company suspended more than 170 employees last week after months of warning them that they had until June 7 to be fully vaccinated. Once suspended, the employees were told they would have until June 21 to complete their vaccinations or risk termination, Daily Kos reported.

Despite the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission supporting policies that employers could require "all employees physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated for COVID-19," at least 117 employees of the company attempted to sue the hospital claiming it violated state policy and made them "human guinea pigs."

According to the plaintiffs, federal law prohibits employees from being required to get vaccinated without full U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the vaccines. While the lawsuit was filed in Texas state court, it was moved to federal court at Houston Methodist's request. As a result, U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes ruled Saturday that federal law does not prevent employers from issuing that mandate because the law in question did not apply to private employers.

"The hospital's employees are not participants in a human trial," Hughes wrote. "They are licensed doctors, nurses, medical technicians, and staff members. The hospital has not applied to test the COVID-19 vaccines on its employees."

He continued that the mandate was a way to make the environment safer for both employees and patients. "This is not coercion. Methodist is trying to do their business of saving lives without giving them the Covid-19 virus. It is a choice made to keep staff, patients and their families safer."

Hughes' ruling addressed each and every one of the plaintiffs' arguments including the vaccination requirement violating Texas law and a comparison to forced medical experiments in Nazi Germany. "Equating the injection requirement to medical experimentation in concentration camps is reprehensible," Hughes wrote. "Nazi doctors conducted medical experiments on victims that caused pain, mutilation, permanent disability, and in many cases, death."

Ultimately Hughes concluded that the plaintiffs "misconstrued" the law and "misrepresented the facts" and "will take nothing" from the hospital. If they had an issue with the policies in place, they should seek employment elsewhere, he wrote.

Upon hearing the ruling, lead plaintiff Jennifer Bridges noted that she would continue to fight her case. "This doesn't surprise me," she told USA Today. "Methodist is a very large company, and they are pretty well-protected in a lot of areas. We knew this was going to be a huge fight, and we are prepared to fight it." Bridges has also started a petition against mandatory vaccinations by employers.

In response to the ruling, attorney and conservative activist Jared Woodfill who represents her and the other 116 plaintiffs said: "We took the position that it shouldn't be dismissed for a whole host of reasons and we believe that forcing an individual to participate in a vaccine trial is illegal."

"This is the first battle in a long fight," Woodfill continued. "There are going to be many battles fought. Not just in this courtroom, but in courtrooms all across the state. There are battles that are going to be fought in the higher courts, the 5th Circuit, the Texas Supreme Court, even the United States Supreme Court. So this is just one battle in a larger war. It's the first round, if you will."

Woodfill confirmed that they would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court "if necessary."

So despite the judge noting and clearly addressing that they had no case, the plaintiffs refuse to back down.

The employees who were suspended from their roles made up only 1% of the hospital's total number of employees, according to Houston Methodist CEO Marc Boom. Boom noted that many other hospitals are working on similar initiatives but were only waiting on this case's verdict to take action. "We can now put this behind us and continue our focus on unparalleled safety, quality, service and innovation," Boom said after the ruling. "Our employees and physicians made their decisions for our patients, who are always at the center of everything we do."

According to CBS News, as of this report, nearly 25,000 Houston Methodist employees had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and at least two employees who worked in management chose to leave rather than receive the vaccine.