Legal challenges are adding to the complexity surrounding state and federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates for home care and home healthcare agencies.
On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked New York’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers after 17 healthcare workers filed a lawsuit Monday, claiming their Constitutional rights were violated because the mandate does not include a religious exemption. The state has a week to respond. If it opposes the lawsuit, a hearing will be scheduled for September 28.
Al Cardillo, president and CEO of the Home Care Association of New York State told McKnight’s Home Care Daily he has been updating members on the lawsuit and the association’s continued efforts to press for “considerations and accommodations” to the mandate requiring New York home healthcare workers get their first shots by Oct. 7.
“We are also working to collect statewide data that can be applied to further inform state officials for their understanding of the situation at hand at the service level, and the need for the considerations and recommended actions that we have provided to the governor’s office and the Department of Health,” Cardillo said in an email.
Maine’s vaccine mandate is also the subject of two legal challenges, one by national Christian organization Liberty Counsel and a second by the Alliance Against Healthcare Mandates. Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced last month all healthcare workers must be vaccinated by Oct. 1. She has since said the state would not begin enforcing the mandate until the end of October.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s broad vaccine mandate covering healthcare workers, federal employees, government contractors and workers at private companies employing more than 100 workers is also being threatened with legal challenges.
The Republican National Committee said it will sue the administration to “protect Americans and their liberties.”
“Many small businesses and workers do not have the money or legal resources to fight Biden’s unconstitutional actions and authoritarian decrees,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a tweet last week . “But when his decree goes into effect, the RNC will sue the administration to protect Americans and their liberties.”
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has not yet written the mandate and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is still developing an interim final rule with a comment period for healthcare providers which will be issued next month.
