Public Health Authority Case Updates for October, November, and December, 2022
October, 2022
Monday, October 31: A former county police officer in Pennsylvania sued Allegheny County, alleging he was discriminated against when he did not receive an exemption for the COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
Monday, October 31: The First Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a suit by a church against Maine Governor Mills for previous gathering limits, holding the claims are now moot. (Calvary Chapel of Bangor v. Mills, 2022 WL 16548315)
Thursday, Oct. 27: A California appeals court affirmed dismissal of Godspeak Calvary Chapel's claims against the County of Ventura for earlier gathering restrictions. The claims were dismissed as moot. (Godspeak Calvarly Chapel v. County of Ventura, 2022 WL 15170582 (Cal. Ct. App. Oct. 27, 2022)).
Wednesday, Oct. 26: A private school in Petoskey, Michigan, had their claims dismissed for mootness after they challenged two orders from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services that prohibited in-person schooling in public and private high schools in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The orders have since expired and the Department of Health has not imposed similar orders since. (Saint Michael Academy v. Hertel, 2022 WL 14707052 (6th Cir. Oct. 26, 2022)).
Tuesday, October 25: 16 New York City sanitation workers who were fired for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine were reinstated and will receive back pay after a Staten Island Superior Court judge ruled that the city’s health commissioner does not have the power to establish new working conditions or to block a person from reporting to work. The mandate is still in effect for all those not part of the suit.
Wednesday, October 19: A federal court in Minnesota dismissed a lawsuit by an employee of the Minnesota Department of Human Services for the department’s vaccine mandate and its lack of religious exemption. The court held that the claim must be dismissed because the state cannot be sued under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) in federal courts. (Zarn v. Minnesota Department of Human Services, 2022 WL 11227241 (D. Minn. Oct. 19, 2022).
Thursday, October 20: A Texas state court dismissed a lawsuit by a group of bar owners who sued Governor Abbott for executive orders issued earlier in the pandemic that restricted the ability of people to patronize bars. The court dismissed the lawsuit as moot. (Stand for Something Group Live v. Abbott, 2022 WL 11485464 (Tex. App. Oct. 20, 2022).
Wednesday, October 19: A federal court in California struck Los Angeles County’s COVID-19 tenant protections as “unconstitutionally vague.” (Apartment Association of Los Angeles County v. County of Los Angeles, 2022 WL 11237666 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 19, 2022) News link
Monday, October 17: A federal court in Arizona dismissed a lawsuit by service members who were denied a religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which is currently paused due to an August ruling by a Florida federal court (Colonel Financial Management Officer v. Austin, 2022 WL 3643512 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 18, 2022). The court in Arizona dismissed the claim after determining that the service members in this case, and their sought remedies, were part of the CFMO class. (Short v. Berger, 2022 WL 10024222 (D. Ariz. Oct. 17, 2022).
Thursday, October 13: A Washington, DC restaurant sued DC’s Department of Health and its former director, claiming that the department exceeded its authority when enacting mask and vaccine mandates earlier this year.
Tuesday, October 11: Three lawsuits involving St. Paul, Minnesota employees were dismissed after the city dropped its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Thursday, October 6: The Eleventh Circuit rejected Norwegian Cruise Line’s challenge to Florida’s “vaccine passports” law, which bars businesses from requiring customers to show proof they received a COVID-19 vaccine.
November, 2022
Tuesday, November 1: A federal court in Iowa ruled that school districts must be able to enact mask mandates, despite a state law banning mask mandates.
Wednesday, November 2: Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds appealed the district court ruling that allows school districts to impose mask mandates.
Wednesday, November 2: A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard arguments over whether a civilian Navy employee can challenge the vaccine mandate for federal workers in court or must first go through an administrative process.
Wednesday, November 2: A former Chicago bus operator sued the Chicago Transit Authority, alleging it infringed upon his religious beliefs when firing him for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccination.