Public Health Authority Case Updates for April, May, and June 2022
April, 2022
Wednesday, 4/20: Following a recommendation by CDC, the DOJ appealed to the Eleventh Circuit the ruling by a federal judge in Florida striking down the mask mandate for airlines and other public transportation. The DOJ did not request a stay of the ruling.
Wednesday, 4/20: An Illinois appellate court vacated a temporary restraining order which had prevented Chicago Public Schools from enforcing its vaccination policy.
Tuesday, 4/19: The Fourth Circuit ruled that federal employees challenging the federal employee vaccine mandate cannot bring suit, as they must raise their challenge through the process laid out in the Civil Service Reform Act.
Tuesday, 4/19: The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit against the Douglas County Health Director, Dr. Lindsey Huse, who had issued a temporary indoor mask mandate for the City of Omaha. This dismissal comes after the Omaha City Council voted to remove the director’s power to enact health measures without permission from the city council.
Monday, 4/18: A federal judge in Florida struck down the mask mandate for airlines and other public transportation, writing that the mandate falls outside the scope of the Public Health Service Act as “[w]earing a mask cleans nothing.”
Monday, 4/18: The Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge brought by four NYC teachers against the city’s vaccine mandate for public school employees.
Saturday, 4/16: Philadelphia businesses and residents filed a lawsuit against the city over its reinstated indoor mask mandate. Less than a week later, the Board of Health voted to rescind the mandate.
Thursday, 4/14: The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that a school district can require students to wear masks.
Wednesday, 4/13: The Biden administration extended the public transportation mask mandate until May 3.
Wednesday, 4/13: A state judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging Utah’s restrictions on mask mandates in schools.
Friday, 4/8: The Eleventh Circuit is hearing arguments in the federal contractor vaccine mandate case.
Friday, 4/8: A former Yankee Stadium employee filed a lawsuit against NYC Mayor Adams over his decision to exempt professional athletes and Broadway performers from the city’s vaccine mandate.
Thursday, 4/7: The Fifth Circuit upheld President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for executive branch agency employees.
Thursday, 4/7: The Indiana Supreme Court heard arguments in the lawsuit Gov. Holcomb filed against state legislators over a law that gives them the authority to convene emergency sessions when the governor has declared a statewide emergency.
Wednesday, 4/6: Nebraska AG Peterson said his office plans to dismiss the state’s lawsuit against the City of Omaha for its mask mandate following passage of an Omaha City Council ordinance Tuesday night. Under the new ordinance, the County Health Director would have to get permission from the mayor and the city council to issue any public health mandates.
Monday, 4/4: A group of Raleigh city employees, including police officers and firefighters, filed a lawsuit against the city over its COVID-19 vaccination policies, including its decision to limit promotions to those who have been vaccinated. Friday, 4/1: A Staten Island judge struck New York City’s mask mandate for children under 5, which was previously set to expire Monday. Mayor Eric Adams announced the city will be delaying the end of the mandate, and will seek a stay.
Friday, 4/1: A Staten Island judge struck New York City’s mask mandate for children under 5, which was previously set to expire Monday. Mayor Eric Adams announced the city will be delaying the end of the mandate, and will seek a stay.
May, 2022
Wednesday, May 26: The Sixth Circuit rejected an appeal filed by a private religious school and school parents seeking an injunction against Michigan’s expired statewide mask mandate.
Monday, May 23: The Supreme Court denied review in F.F. v. New York. Previously, a New York state appellate court rejected parents' constitutional challenges to New York's repeal of the religious exemption from mandatory vaccination for school children.
Monday, May 23: The Seventh Circuit ruled that a group of Illinois residents and businesses’ claims challenging Gov. Pritzker’s COVID-19 executive orders was properly dismissed by a lower court.
Saturday, May 21: Opponents of the federal employee vaccine mandate filed a petition in the Fifth Circuit asking that the court’s April ruling dismissing the lawsuit challenging the policy be vacated, and that the full 17-member court hear new arguments in the case.
Thursday, 5/12: A federal court in Washington dismissed a lawsuit filed by federal contractor employees over the federal worker and contractor vaccine mandate, finding that most plaintiffs lacked standing, and remaining plaintiffs failed to show how the mandate was unlawful.
Thursday, 5/12: Washington firefighters who were terminated for not complying with the state vaccine mandate threatened to file lawsuits for discrimination and wrongful termination.
Wednesday, 5/11: A D.C. federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from federal employees over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, finding plaintiffs’ claims were too early because their religious exemption requests are still being processed.
Wednesday, 5/11: The U.S. Air Force filed a motion in a Georgia federal court to dismiss a lawsuit over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, arguing that plaintiffs cannot show an injury until a decision is made on whether or how to punish them for refusing the vaccine.
Monday, 5/9: A Michigan court heard arguments in a case over whether the Genesee County medical health officer’s appointment was valid. The officer called the lawsuit a “politically motivated attack.”
Friday, 5/6: A federal court in New Mexico dismissed a lawsuit from two former corrections officers over a county’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for first responders.
And, an article to read: ‘It’s a tsunami’: Legal challenges threatening public health policy by Krista Mahr for Politico.
Wednesday, 5/18: Florida’s surgeon general asked the Eleventh Circuit to reinstate its vaccine passport ban. Last August, a federal judge sided with Norwegian Cruise Lines and enjoined the ban, finding it in violation of the cruise line’s First Amendment rights.
Wednesday, 5/18: A Louisiana appellate court ruled that the City of Shreveport must pay $36,000 to four businesses for legal fees they accrued when successfully suing the mayor over a mask mandate.
Tuesday, 5/17: A Missouri court heard motions to dismiss Attorney General Schmitt’s lawsuit against Columbia Public Schools for its mask mandate. Schmitt’s office said it is preparing for new lawsuits if school districts reinstate orders.
Monday, 5/16: The Eighth Circuit lifted an injunction on an Iowa law banning mask mandates in schools. The court vacated it as moot due to lower COVID-19 transmission rates.
June, 2022
Friday, June 17: A US District Court in Utah dismissed federal contractors’ complaint against Union Pacific Railroad Company for mandating the COVID-19 vaccine in accordance with the federal contractor vaccine mandate.
Tuesday, June 21: The Texas Supreme Court requested briefings to be filed over the next two months in the fight over public health authority between Governor Greg Abbott and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
Thursday, June 23: A Tennessee judge dismissed a lawsuit that Unmask Knox County Kids filed against the Knox County Board of Education alleging that the BOE’s mask mandate last year deprived students of their constitutional rights.
Friday, June 10: The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida denied plaintiffs’ motion to proceed under a pseudonym. Plaintiffs, federal employees or contractors suing the government over its COVID-19 vaccine mandates, alleged that being named would require them to divulge their “medical vaccine statuses.” Doe v. Austin, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105229 (M.D. Fla. June 10, 2022)
Monday, June 13: The U.S. District Court in Maine dismissed the complaint of a parent of a junior high student suing over a school district’s mask mandate. The court dismissed plaintiff’s complaint for failure to state a claim. Fortuna v. Town of Winslow, 2022 WL 2117717 (D. Me. June 13, 2022)
Tuesday, June 14: The 10th Circuit, in an interlocutory appeal, affirmed the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction against a New Mexico COVID-19 vaccine mandate for hospital and congregate care facility workers. Valdez v. Grisham, 2022 WL 2129071 (10th Cir. June 14, 2022)
Wednesday, June 15: The 9th Circuit dismissed for mootness the appeal of plaintiffs, a group of parents and students arguing that California officials violated federal law by ordering schools to suspend in-person instruction in 2020 and 2021. Brach v. Newsom, 2022 WL 2145391 (9th Cir. June 15, 2022)
Thursday, June 16: The 8th Circuit affirmed dismissal of Equal Protection Clause and Takings Clause claims of three Minnesota businesses arguing they suffered financial loss due to executive orders restricting business activities during the pandemic. Northland Baptist Church of St. Paul v. Walz, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 16625 (8th Cir. June 16, 2022).
Monday, June 6: A former health professor at Springfield Technical Community College sued the school after she was fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds.
Tuesday, June 7: A federal court ruled that four New Jersey healthcare workers failed to show that state executive orders requiring them to stay up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccines violated their constitutional rights.
Wednesday, June 8: A Washington judge refused to grant an injunction against Gov. Inslee’s updated rules regarding face masks and vaccine requirements.