Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said last week that no Defense Department civilians had yet been punished for refusing the vaccine. To date, the federal government has not fired civilian employees for failing to comply with the vaccine mandate, those lawyers told Brown. “That, under the current state of the law as just recently expressed by the Supreme Court, is a bridge too far.”īrown also wrote in his ruling that the injunction’s timing was necessary because Justice Department lawyers had indicated that some federal agencies planned to start disciplining some unvaccinated civilian workers who could face being fired from their jobs. The case “is about whether the president can, with the stroke of a pen and without the input of Congress, require millions of federal employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment,” Brown wrote. companies to mandate vaccination or require regular testing for their employees. Published: 16:12, Updated: 21:46, GUNFIRE erupted near the Pentagon after a shooter allegedly opened fire at a transit stop on August 3. 13 ruling striking down Biden’s order directing large U.S. He cited as precedent the Supreme Court’s Jan. 9 that all federal workers be vaccinated against the coronavirus. In Brown’s 20-page ruling, he wrote he issued the injunction because he believed Biden might have overstepped his authority in ordering on Sept. Like the Pentagon guidance, the services moved to shield civilians from any potential punishment and halted officials from considering civilian workers’ requests for religious- or medical-based exemptions from the coronavirus inoculation, officials said. The Army and Air Force issued guidance halting enforcement of the mandate shortly after Brown’s ruling, officials from those services said. The Pentagon guidance was issued after at least some of the military services took initial steps to halt enforcement of Biden’s vaccine mandate for civilians while they awaited guidance from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s office, military officials said this week. Lawrence said she could provide no further information Thursday about the policy change, citing the ongoing litigation. It also halts Pentagon officials from taking any disciplinary actions, including firings, against civilian workers who remain unvaccinated, she said. The new Pentagon guidance directs DOD officials to pause the processing of vaccination exemption requests for medical or religious reasons, Lawrence said. Jen Psaki, Biden’s press secretary, said the administration believes the order requiring the coronavirus vaccines for civilian federal workers was legal.īrown’s order does not impact uniformed military service members, who remain required to receive the vaccines, Pentagon officials said. The Justice Department issued an appeal of the ruling shortly after Brown’s temporary injunction was ordered on Friday, said Danielle Blevins, a department spokeswoman.
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