There was no word by deadline Friday on the fate of a federal preliminary injunction request that seeks to prevent the Department of Energy contractor running the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee from placing a small group of COVID-19 vaccine refusers on unpaid leave.
There were no new records on the case posted online early Friday and a person in the clerk’s office at the federal court in Knoxville would not speculate on when a decision might come out.
The current temporary restraining order will “remain in effect until either Friday at 5:00 p.m. or ruling on the Preliminary Injunction is entered,” by U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley Jr., according to a court update filed online Wednesday in the Eastern District of Tennessee. That was after deadline for Weapons Complex Monitor.
If the order is not issued by 5 p.m., expect the temporary restraining order to remain intact for the short term, a source connected with the case told Weapons Complex Monitor Friday.
Testimony in the suit brought against laboratory operator UT-Battelle took place Tuesday and Wednesday in a federal courtroom in Knoxville, Tenn. It focused on witnesses, affidavits, emails and other records concerning medical and religious exemption requests sought by a half-dozen lab employees who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Among other things the plaintiffs argue that UT-Battelle is being too rigid in its interpretation of executive orders issued in September by President Joe Biden pushing vaccinations of federal employees and federal contract workers by early December. The plaintiffs say there are alternatives short of mandating inoculation for all, such as masking, testing or remote work, that would protect lab staff without costing plaintiffs their income.
No Word on Los Alamos Hearing at Deadline
Eight Los Alamos employees who refused to get a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and sued the lab’s operations contractor were having a hearing in federal court today seeking to stop the mandate. There had been no ruling out of that hearing at deadline.
All eight of the plaintiffs received a religious exemption to Los Alamos’s vaccine mandate, which called for anyone not vaccinated or exempted to be fired by Oct. 15. The plaintiffs still stand to lose their jobs, however, because the only religious accommodation offered by Triad National Security, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Battelle-led contractor, is leave without pay.
Triad’s blanket accommodation of leave without pay for religious refusers violates the plaintiffs constitutional rights and their rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to an individual, interactive process with Triad over their religious objections, the plaintiffs said in a complaint filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for New Mexico.
Triad required employees who desired a religious accommodation to the vaccine mandate, announced Aug. 23, to seek the exemption from their supervisors. The mandate applied to lab employees, contractors and subcontractors, including those who exclusively telework. Anyone who takes leave without pay has only 30 days to return to the lab before Los Alamos can hire a replacement, according to the complaint.
Meanwhile, plaintiffs suing the management and operations contractor at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina have been given until Nov. 3 to file their response to the Oct. 20 motion to dismiss filed by Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions.
The operations contractor said it is trying to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the 310-square mile federal complex and carry out vaccine requirements for federal contractor employees brought about by September executive orders from President Joe Biden.
More than 200 people at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions could end up being fired if they fail to get vaccinated by a Nov. 30 deadline. Employees who indicated no intention of starting the vaccination shots were asked to turn in their access badges to the federal facility by Oct. 15.
A spokesperson for the contractor said this week SRNS has roughly 5,500 people on the payroll and 96% are now vaccinated.
Silent Majority Foundation Plans Anti-Vax Mandate Suit at Hanford
A group called the Silent Majority Foundation is planning a class action lawsuit on behalf of workers at the DOE’s Hanford Site in Washington state refusing to comply with a federal mandate to be vaccinated, according to a Sunday online announcement.
“The plan includes bringing a suit for a temporary restraining order or injunctive relief prior to November 22 (or December 8), the date associated with the vaccine mandate for your respective employers,” according to the announcement. It goes on to state details of the planned legal action were to be discussed at a meeting that evening at the Island View Worship Center in Richland, Wash.
As for the federal vaccine order case, the Silent Majority Foundation said it has teamed up with the Arnold & Jacobowitz law firm “to fight for the Hanford workers.” The law firm has offices in Seattle and Chelan, Wash.
According to its website, the Silent Majority Foundation “is a grassroots organization centered on protecting America’s constitution and theological foundation.” In September the organization filed a lawsuit in Franklin County against Gov. Jay Inslee over certain vaccine mandates in Washington. Among the group’s founders are attorney Pete Serrano, a Pasco city council member and former DOE attorney who is now New Nuclear Environmental Planning Supervisor for Energy Northwest, according to his LinkedIn bio.
Serrano’s bio said he has been general counsel for the Silent Majority Foundation since August. The litigation will probably be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, Serrano said by email Wednesday.
During the past week, the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management has 115 confirmed active cases, down 31 from the 146 for the week ended Oct. 22. In late September, the weekly cases at the Environmental Management worksites were running in the 250 to 280 range.
