Judge Dismisses Vaccine Mandate Lawsuit by Houston Hospital Staff
In a dangerous move, a federal judge in Texas on June 12 dismissed a lawsuit brought by 117 Houston Methodist hospital employees who sought to block the hospital system’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
In a five-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes wrote that firing the employees as a result of their refusal to take the COVID-19 shots wouldn’t amount to wrongful termination. Under Texas law, an employee is considered to have been wrongfully terminated if fired solely for refusing to perform an illegal act.
Hughes, a Reagan appointee, also rejected several claims from the plaintiffs under federal law, including an assertion that the employees are being forced to participate in a human trial for the vaccines since the shots are only being allowed under an emergency use authorization. The hospital, the judge wrote, isn’t participating in a human trial for the vaccines.
“Bridges says that she is being forced to be injected with the vaccine or be fired. This is not coercion. Methodist is trying to do their business of saving lives without giving them the COVID-19 virus,” Hughes said, referring to Jennifer Bridges, the lead plaintiff. “Bridges can freely choose to accept or refuse a COVID-19 vaccine; however, if she refuses, she will simply need to work somewhere else.” (Emphasis added)
“If a worker refuses an assignment, changed office, earlier start time, or other directive, he may be properly fired. Every employment includes limits on the worker’s behavior in exchange for his remuneration. This is all part of the bargain.” (Emphasis added)
In an emailed statement on the ruling, Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist, told The Epoch Times, “We can now put this behind us and continue our focus on unparalleled safety, quality, service, and innovation. Our employees and physicians made their decisions for our patients, who are always at the center of everything we do,” Boom said. “They have fulfilled their sacred obligation as health care workers, and we couldn’t ask for a more dedicated, caring, and talented team.”
Jared Woodfill, the lawyer representing plaintiffs in the suit, told The Epoch Times in a recent interview that he planned to file an appeal if Hughes dismissed the case.
“We’re taking it all the way Supreme Court,” he said.
Houston Methodist announced the vaccination mandate for more than 25,000 of its employees on April 1. By June 8, 24,947 were fully vaccinated. But 178 who either chose not to get a vaccine or who weren’t fully vaccinated were suspended for 14 days without pay.
Boom wrote at the time that the workers “have decided not to put their patients first,” according to an internal memo obtained by The Epoch Times. The suspended workers would be fired if they didn’t get fully vaccinated by the end of the suspension period.
The hospital allowed some employees to forgo vaccination for religious reasons or medical concerns; 285 employees received a medical or religious exemption, while 332 were granted deferrals for pregnancy or other reasons.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said recently that businesses can require employees to get a vaccine without violating federal laws but that employers must provide “reasonable accommodations” for workers who can’t or won’t get vaccinated due to religious reasons, pregnancy, or a disability.
Over 100 employees from the system filed the lawsuit last month, asserting that officials were forcing employees “to be human ‘guinea pigs’ as a condition for continued employment.”
Bob Nevens, a former Houston Methodist employee who is one of the plaintiffs, told The Epoch Times in an email that he was terminated after asking to work from home or keep social distancing and wearing a mask in lieu of getting a vaccine.
“I was a 10-year highly decorated employee who was very well respected until I made a decision to wait until these vaccines complete their clinical trials,” he said.
Bridges, the lead plaintiff, told The Epoch Times that hospital workers have seen numerous patients who have suffered adverse reactions after getting a COVID-19 vaccine and a number of so-called breakthrough cases, or COVID-19 infections that take place in individuals who are fully vaccinated.
“So it doesn’t protect you from getting or spreading COVID, and the likelihood of a severe adverse reaction is happening a lot right now, so your risk versus the benefits just don’t weigh out. So we’re not comfortable because we don’t want to risk our lives or our future over getting this vaccine that doesn’t even work,” she said.
Federal authorities say that based on clinical trial data, the three vaccines authorized for emergency use in the United States are effective in preventing COVID-19 infection, but that a small percentage of people getting the vaccines have suffered adverse events, including blood clots and heart inflammation.
Bridges also pointed to the growing body of research that indicates that people who have had COVID-19 enjoy natural immunity against the illness.
“Most of us have already had COVID, so this vaccine does absolutely no good because we already have our own antibodies for it,” she said.
Editor’s note: An appeal was filed on June 14.
See more here: theepochtimes.com
Header image: Houston Methodist Hospital
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Charles Higley
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This is all predicated on there jabs, which are not vaccines by any definition, actually do what they claim.
As these jabs only introduce one protein, the spike protein, for an immune response, a person will create only one set of antibodies for the one protein and NOT the entire set of antibodies normally produced when a person makes antibodies for ALL the surface proteins of a virus. Such a full set would be called “neutralizing” antibodies as they would fully coat a virus particle and then T-cells would engulf and digest the particle.
However, the jabs produce an incomplete set of antibodies and thus a virus particle is incompletely wrapped in antibodies, called “non-neutralizing” antibodies. T-cells engulf these particles with an incomplete antibody coating, but the cell cannot digest it and the virus is then free to replicate. Basically, this system invites the virus specifically into your immune cells and one gets sick more easily, sicker than normal, and die more often. Yeah, that’s a great thing—we should all do it, right? NO.
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Tom
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Good reasoning. But how do we know for sure there is only one spike protein being introduced? I do not trust pharma to tell the truth, but there may be several types of spike proteins all designed to do something different.
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Keer_NT
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Where may I read more in reference to your citation of biological facts and process, that you may have used in your comments. Your comments are most enlightening; let me guess your blocked on Twitter and Facebook? Thank you. May GOD Bless you and all your loved. ones ..
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jerry Krause
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Hi Charles,
Thank you for this simple explanation. Which any judge should be able to follow and to request the parties involved in the lawsuit to accept it or to give evidence why (how) that which you wrote is NOT CORRECT!!!
Have a good day, Jerry
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Andrew Pilkington
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A “Test-bed Case”?
I ask because yesterday, “Wednesday 16th June”, the Rogue Corporate British Terrorist Government (see, I’m not biased 🙂 ) announced that they are making these Experimental Injections Compulsory for Care Workers in Care Homes, with a view to expanding it to all the NHS workers. They said that they want the same, for our Children, but they can *******. I wonder if the Staff of the NHS will finally break their Silence, now their necks are on the Block? I very much doubt it, based on the reactions to a bit of Truth. Their Choice, it’ll be their Trial?
They are happy raking in their bonuses while everyone else gets coerced into risking their Life to get Genetically Modified, rather than take a chance “IF” they did actually contract this re-branded Flu “Virus” (detox), for which there is NO Gold Standard sample available, anywhere in the World?
My heart goes out, to the decent Hospital Staff you write about here 🙁
Maybe they’d benefit from contacting Dr. Reiner Fuellmich over the Class Action Lawsuits which they are undertaking?
I ask because, if I remember correctly, he invited people to make known that they want to be included? Words to that effect, anyway?
Best of Luck at the Appeal.
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Linden
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A worrying precedent possibly being set here. I very much hope the appeal wins. If this kind of thing goes ahead it’s likely (in the UK at any rate) to cause a massive shortage of staff in care homes as those who don’t want to take an experimental jab find work elsewhere. Nobody should be forced to put anything into their body without their consent, it’s that simple.
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Tom
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Exactly…and your livelihood should not have to depend on choosing to be injected with an experimental potion that has yet to be tested over the long term. That is the boogie man in the closet. We simply cannot trust pharma drugs and vaccines in the long run. Most drugs have never been examined for long term effects and combined negative reactions.
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Mark Tapley
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The hospitals like the medical schools have been controlled by the Rockefeller Foundation allopathic system all the way back to the 1918 fake flu. Almost all judges are hand picked cronies of the Zionist establishment as of course was Reagan (read Dark victory by Dan Moldea and Supermob by Gus Russo). The deck is stacked as far as legal recourse. More employers will be coerced by the gov. to mandate the blood toxin injections. The only thing that will stop it is for the people to ban together and refuse to be treated like cattle. Boycott all businesses that violate your right to make your own medical decisions.
As for Fulmrich that will go nowhere. I thought it strange that Fulmrich would allow the interview of what could be an expert witness in the Webb video to be made public.
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