More than 50 federal employees sued the Biden administration this week over its COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
The Federal Practice Group, which represents dozens of federal government workers, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging the mandates requiring all federal government employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 violate “longstanding statutory prohibitions against inoculations with unlicensed vaccines.”
“Accordingly, plaintiffs who are representative of nearly every Federal Agency respectfully request relief from this Court in the form of injunctive relief stopping this illegal and unnecessarily broad and wide-ranging program,” the lawsuit reads.
The vaccine mandate violates federal workers’ rights in several ways, according to the lawsuit. First, it does not allow for a case-by-case review and forces workers to disclose personal medical history to the government itself.
Second, it requires workers to choose between their jobs and vaccination.
And third, it does not take into consideration the natural immunity previously infected workers have from the virus.
“The internet is replete with multiple studies confirming the lasting immunity to COVID-19 experienced by individuals who have previously contracted COVID-19,” the lawsuit stated.
“One notable one is from the Cleveland Clinic, which found that individuals previously infected with COVID-19 did not suffer reinfection, and that ultimately, ‘Individuals who have had SARS-CoV-2 infection are unlikely to benefit from COVID-19 vaccination,'” it said.
Twenty of the employees listed in the lawsuit work for the Department of Homeland Security. They have until Nov. 22 to be fully vaccinated unless the D.C. court issues an injunction against the mandate.
A different coalition of federal employees, Feds for Medical Freedom, separately urged the Biden administration to rethink its vaccine mandate.
“On the basis that the mandates, as written and being implemented, are unlawful, federal employees are asking the judicial system to issue an order that prevents the mass firings of dedicated public servants,” the group wrote.
