Employees of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory who sued over the lab contractor’s COVID-19 vaccination policy have “narrowed the issues” to be addressed in ongoing settlement talks, according to a recent court filing.
Attorneys for the management contractor UT-Battelle, composed of the University of Tennessee and Battelle, and the half-dozen employees who sued, should report back to the U.S. District Court Judge in Knoxville by April 7, according to a March 7 court order.
“The parties believe the process has been productive and that they are making progress,” with the assistance of mediator Chad Hatmaker, the judge wrote in the order, which was filed after a March 3 status report from the parties.
Last September the federal district court judge in Eastern Tennessee admonished the parties to get back to settlement talks after the parties indicated they were back on the road to litigation after failing to agree on the final details. The judge wrote he was previously informed in June 2022 the settlement was almost a done-deal.
In October 2021 Jeffrey and Jessica Bilyeu and four other lab workers filed suit against the lab manager saying the contractor was being too rigid in its interpretation of COVID-19-related executive orders issued the prior month by President Joe Biden. The plaintiffs filed a revised complaint in January 2022.
The Department of Energy no longer requires its contractors to report on the vaccination status of their employees.
