Two federal court cases in which Attorney General Daniel Cameron played a major role have led to judges issuing a halt in COVID-19 vaccination requirements, both for federal contractors and for healthcare workers.
In a ruling handed down by Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove at U.S. District Court in Frankfort, he stopped implementation of the vaccine requirement for federal contractors until the case can be fully argued in court.
In a 29-page decision, Van Tatenhove stated, “This is not a case about whether vaccines are effective. They are. Nor is this a case about whether the government, at some level, and in some circumstances, can require citizens to obtain vaccines. It can. The question presented here is narrow. Can the president use congressionally delegated authority to manage the federal procurement of goods and services to impose vaccines on the employees of federal contractors and subcontractors? In all likelihood, the answer to that question is no.”
Cameron was joined in the lawsuit by the attorneys general of Ohio and Tennessee, and the injunction issued by the court applies only to those three states. It is believed to be the first injunction in the country halting the vaccine mandate for federal contractors.
Meanwhile, a federal court judge in Monroe, Louisiana, issued a temporary injunction to prevent a similar vaccine requirement made by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, for healthcare workers at settings which accept Medicare and Medicaid funding, from taking effect.
Cameron was one of 13 attorneys general involved in that lawsuit, and the judge made his ruling effective nationwide, except for ten states where an identical injunction had been issued earlier, until arguments on the merits of the case can be heard.
“The court has ruled that the Biden Administration and CMS do not have the authority to issue a mandatory vaccination requirement for healthcare workers,” Cameron said. “We are grateful to the court for the relief this decision brings to burdened healthcare facilities and compassionate healthcare workers, in Kentucky and across our nation, who feared losing their jobs under this mandate.”
The states of Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia were also part of the suit.
There is no word yet on when arguments will be heard on the two cases.
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Written by Tom Latek. Cross-posted from Kentucky Today.
