Houston Judge Shoots Down Hospital Workers’ Lawsuit over Vaccine Mandate
A Houston judge handed down a rather critical ruling in the case of hospital employees who filed suit after their hospital system mandated vaccinations for all its staff members.
Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, brought forth a mandate that stipulated all staff members would need to get the COVID-19 vaccine by a June 7 deadline. Staff members who did not adhere to the mandate would be promptly terminated. A total of 178 hospital employees who refused to get vaccinated were subsequently suspended without pay. Of those 178, 117 employees fought back, joining Nurse Jennifer Bridges in filing suit against the hospital system. In their complaint, they allege that the hospital was forcing them to be “guinea pigs” by requiring them to get inoculated with a vaccine that was passed through FDA emergency approval. Their lawsuit alleges of this requirement, "It is a severe and blatant violation of the Nuremberg Code and the public policy of the state of Texas."
Following the lawsuit, Houston U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes gave a very scathing ruling. He dismissed the lawsuit's allegations that the COVID-19 vaccines were “experimental and dangerous” and declared Bridges' accusations to be “false and irrelevant.”
Hughes also doubled down on the lawsuit’s allegations that the hospital mandate was tied to illegal acts. The lawsuit argues that through the vaccine mandate, the hospital system was asking Bridges to commit an illegal act. However, Hughes noted, “Bridges does not specify what illegal acts she has refused to perform.”
Hughes highlighted that "Texas law only protects employees from being terminated for refusing to commit an act carrying criminal penalties to the worker." The judge added, "Receiving a COVID-19 vaccination is not an illegal act, and it carries no criminal penalties."
Hughes went on to chastise the lawsuit for its likening the vaccine mandate to Nazi practices. Hughes explained in his ruling, “Equating the injunction requirements to medical experimentation in concentration camps is reprehensible. Nazi doctors conducted medical experiments on victims that caused pain, mutilation, permanent disability, and in many cases, death.”
Bridges' claim that a vaccine mandate tied to employment was coerced led Hughes to rule the opposite. Hughes explained, “Bridges can freely choose to accept or refuse a COVID-19 vaccine; however, if she refuses, she will simply need to work somewhere else. If a worker refuses an assignment, changed office, earlier start time, or other directive, he may be properly fired. Every employment includes limits on the worker’s behavior in exchange for remuneration. That is all part of the bargain.”
Hughes went on to highlight the efforts of the Methodist Hospital in its dedication to its employees. Hughes writes, "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."
Jared Woodfill, the lawyer representing Bridges and the other employees who filed suit, pushed back against the ruling stating that he and his clients were going to move forward with an appeal.
Woodfill explained, “All of my clients continue to be committed to fighting this unjust policy.” He added, “What is shocking is that many of my clients were on the front line treating COVID-positive patients at Texas Methodist Hospital during the height of the pandemic. As a result, many of them contracted COVID-19. As a thank you for their service and sacrifice, Methodist Hospital awards them a pink slip and sentences them to bankruptcy.”
Houston Methodist Hospital shared in a statement after the ruling that they were "pleased and reassured after U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes today dismissed a frivolous lawsuit filed by some employees who fought our COVID-19 vaccine mandate."
The hospital has shared that 24,947 employees have adhered to the vaccination mandate. Some 285 other employees had either a religious or medical exemption for the vaccine, while another 332 have deferred getting the vaccine because of pregnancy, breastfeeding, or other issues. Additionally, 27 of the 178 who refused vaccination have had their first dose of the vaccine.
