A three-judge panel in Louisiana's 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals decided to issue a temporary restraining order against non-profit health care provider Ochsner Health System over its vaccine mandate. The temporary restraining order now prohibits the healthcare organization from forcing their employees to get jabbed against COVID.
According to the Christian Headlines, 39 Ochsner Health System employees in Shreveport, Louisiana filed a lawsuit in the court of appeals as nine employees in Monroe and 48 workers in Lafayette took the case to separate courts, arguing that the healthcare company's COVID vaccine mandate violates their rights to refuse medical treatments and to have privacy.
The temporary restraining order also allows Ochsner employees to have a hearing and temporarily prohibits the healthcare company from letting go of or disciplining staff members who refuse to get the COVID vaccine.
Jimmy Faircloth, who represents the plaintiffs in the case, told NOLA.com that in order to successfully obtain a restraining order, plaintiffs must have convinced the court that they have a "substantial likelihood of success." He added that the case is a "resounding wake-up call" for Louisiana businesses who continue to believe that they can force employees to get jabbed against COVID.
Meanwhile, Tulane Law School professor and attorney Joel Friedman argued that there was "no violation of any right to privacy" in the case of Ochsner Health System employees versus the healthcare company, because "the government has a compelling interest to require vaccinations under the circumstances to promote public health."
Friedman theorized that the reason why the Louisiana appeals court made their decision was to allow a hearing on whether the healthcare company's COVID vaccine mandate was unconstitutional, not to determine if the employees' privacy rights were indeed violated.
Meanwhile, Ochsner Health System has decided to hit pause on its COVID vaccine requirement for its employees following the decision of the Louisiana appeals court, FOX 8 Live reported. The healthcare company's CEO Warner Thomas said that they were "deferring" the "compliance deadline for all Ochsner LSU Health employees across facilities in Shreveport and Monroe until the matter is settled."
The company originally established an October 29 deadline for employees to get vaccinated or face weekly COVID testing. Employees in other Oschsner sites, however, will have to comply with their requirement.
Warner expressed the company's intent to appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court and said that he is "confident we will prevail." The company CEO argied, "Not only is this policy the right thing to do for our patients and employees, it is clear that employers have the right to implement vaccine mandates."
Warner also reacted to the Louisiana appeals court's decision, calling it "surprising and disappointing," as well as "inconsistent with established Louisiana law." He did, however, say that they already expected "a small percentage of employees" to refuse to comply with the healthcare company's COVID vaccine mandate.
