After ordering a temporary halt to certain COVID-19 vaccine-related firings at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory last week, a federal judge was scheduled to hear arguments next week about whether to extend the firing moratorium, according to court papers.
U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley in the Eastern District of Tennessee issued a temporary restraining order on Oct. 15, preventing the lab from placing a half-dozen vaccine holdouts on unpaid leave, according to online court documents. Parties were told to submit a list of any witnesses they expect to call, or exhibits they intend to present, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday — after deadline for Weapons Complex Monitor.
The judge said the temporary restraining order should not be taken as a sign the court will issue a permanent injunction in the case. The hearing was set for Oct. 26.
President Joe Biden in September ordered all federal employees and contractors to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or find new jobs.
Jeffrey Bilyeu, Jennifer Bilyeu and four other plaintiffs filed a class action suit Oct. 12 against UT-Battelle, the contractor partnership between Battelle and the University of Tennessee that runs Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the DOE’s Office of Science.
“This is a class action brought to remedy UT-Battelle’s pattern of discrimination against employees who requested religious or medical accommodations from UT-Battelle’s mandate that its employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” according to the complaint the lab is skirting Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
When several plaintiffs in the case sought a religious exemption to taking the vaccine, UT-Battelle responded “by offering only an indefinite period of unpaid leave,” according to the suit. UT-Battelle employees who are “accommodated” with unpaid leave, were told to turn in their site badges Oct. 15.
“UT-Battelle’s mandate is absolute—there is no alternative for remote work, periodic testing, mask wearing, or social distancing, even for employees who have already had COVID-19 and still enjoy immunity from the disease and for employees who have worked remotely throughout the pandemic,” according to the complaint.
On Aug. 26, 2021, Lab Director Thomas Zacharia announced via email that the lab will require all employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the suit.
