Denial of injunction in vaccine mandates case affirmed

A federal appeals court on Wednesday denied an injunction to a group of hospital workers in Massachusetts who are suing their employer over a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Agreeing with an earlier district court ruling in Together Employees v. Mass General Brigham Inc., the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the former employees of Mass General Brigham had not met the requirements for an emergency injunctive relief pending appeal of their case.

Eight hospital employees within the 14-hospital system sought individual religious exemptions and/or medical exemptions, which MGB denied. When the employees still refused to get vaccinated, MGB placed them on unpaid leave.

The appellants sued MGB under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, arguing that MGB acted unlawfully when it denied their individual exemption requests. The district court denied a motion for a preliminary injunction, which would have required the reinstatement of the appellants from unpaid leave status. After the vaccination deadline MGB imposed had passed, one appellant resigned, another got vaccinated, and the remaining six had their employment terminated, according to court records.

The appeals court ruled they had not demonstrated irreparable harm, as required for a preliminary injunction. The court wrote that “appellants made virtually no effort to show irreparable harm. Instead, they largely repeated their prior unsuccessful arguments.”