By a 2-1 vote, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an order issued by a U.S. District Judge in Texas in January that barred federal employees from being vaccinated. Biden said in September that he would require about 3.5 million civil servants to be vaccinated by November 22, excluding religious or medical accommodation, otherwise they would face discipline or dismissal. read more The White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately comment. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register The Biden government argued that the federal court of first instance had no jurisdiction to hear the dispute. The administration told the appellate court that the employees had to file their complaints through the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA). A majority of the commission said the plaintiffs were “seeking to circumvent CSRA’s exclusive control system” and that the court had rejected the “invitation”. Disputes over federal employees generally appear before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and then before the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, the Department of Justice said in a statement. “The order seriously harms the public interest by hampering efforts to reduce disruption due to COVID-19 in federal workplaces,” government lawyers said in court. The White House said more than 93% of federal officials have received at least one vaccination and 98% have been vaccinated or are seeking religious or medical exemption. In mid-January, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Biden’s mandate to vaccinate or test large companies against COVID-19, a policy that Conservative judges deemed inappropriate for the lives and health of many Americans. The court allowed a separate federal vaccine requirement for health care facilities. A third major vaccine requirement for federal contractors such as airlines and manufacturers was blocked by a federal judge in December. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by David Shepardson and Mike Scarcella. Editing by Leslie Adler and Richard Pullin Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
