As more hospitals, health systems and states have mandated COVID-19 vaccination, medical workers have filed lawsuits contesting the policies.
Below is a list of lawsuits that have been filed against states and healthcare organizations this year. Note: The list is not exhaustive.
1. Seventeen medical workers, including physicians, nurses, a medical technician and physician's liaison, filed a lawsuit Sept. 13 under pseudonyms in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. The healthcare workers seek a preliminary injunction — and ultimately a permanent and final injunction — against the state vaccination mandate's prohibition of religious exemptions.
2. About 50 employees dropped a lawsuit against Henry Ford Health System that alleged the Detroit-based organization's vaccination mandate is unconstitutional. The employees filed the lawsuit in Detroit federal court Sept. 6 saying Henry Ford's requirement that they receive shots as a condition of employment "is both unconstitutional and has caused money damages to plaintiffs."
3. Workers refiled lawsuits Sept. 3 to block vaccination requirements at Edgewood, Ky.-based St. Elizabeth Healthcare and the following Cincinnati-based organizations: UC Health, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, the Christ Hospital Health Network, Bon Secours Mercy Health and TriHealth. Lawsuits were initially filed and voluntarily dismissed against the hospital systems in August, before being refiled.
4. In June, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by more than 100 employees of Houston Methodist over the health system's vaccination mandate for workers. The unvaccinated employees subsequently appealed the lawsuit's dismissal.
5. Former Houston Methodist employees filed a lawsuit in August alleging wrongful termination after they were fired for not complying with the organization's vaccination requirement, according to ABC 13. Plaintiffs include former employees of Houston Methodist hospitals in the Woodlands, Baytown, Sugar Land and Clear Lake.