Weapons Complex Monitor Vol. 33 No. 32
Visit Archives | Return to Issue
PDF
Weapons Complex Monitor
Article 8 of 12
August 11, 2022

COVID-19 vaccination lawsuit against SRS prime dropped

By Staff Reports

A lawsuit against the Department of Energy’s prime contractor at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, filed by about 80 employees who objected to its COVID-19 vaccination policy, was dismissed.

The plaintiffs, led by Shawn Phillip Rhoades, and defendant Savannah River Nuclear Solutions filed a joint motion for dismissal dated Thursday in the U.S. District Court in South Carolina.

The case is dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be revived, and each party is responsible for its own legal fees, according to the three-page document.

The development is not a big surprise given the plaintiffs agreed to drop their appeal about a month earlier in the  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. There the plaintiffs dropped their appeal of U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs rejection of their request for a temporary injunction halting the vaccination policy.

The plaintiffs, however, were still free to pursue their underlying arguments against the vaccination policy back in the U.S. District Court in South Carolina, according to online court documents. Instead, they elected to end the litigation.

Judge Childs, last month confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, earlier sided with Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions and rejected the requests for an injunction. 

The management and operations contractor argued it was both following White House policy and making a sensible move to protect worker health during a pandemic. The contractor said last year more than 96% of its current workforce was already vaccinated.

Comments are closed.

Partner Content
Social Feed

NEW: Via public records request, I’ve been able to confirm reporting today that a warrant has been issued for DOE deputy asst. secretary of spent fuel and waste disposition Sam Brinton for another luggage theft, this time at Las Vegas’s Harry Reid airport. (cc: @EMPublications)

DOE spent fuel lead Brinton accused of second luggage theft.



by @BenjaminSWeiss, confirming today's reports with warrant from Las Vegas Metro PD.

Waste has been Emplaced! 🚮

We have finally begun emplacing defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste in Panel 8 of #WIPP.

Read more about the waste emplacement here: https://wipp.energy.gov/wipp_news_20221123-2.asp

Load More