A federal appeals court in Chicago will hear oral arguments in an Indiana doctor’s bid to block a health-care system from requiring that workers get vaccinated against Covid-19 despite religious objections.
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit May 31 will consider the arguments of Paul Halczenko, who’s contesting a federal district judge’s decision denying his request for a preliminary injunction against Ascension Health Inc.
The judge found that Halczenko failed to show he’d suffer irreparable harm without the court order. But Halczenko contends that Ascension’s decision to turn aside his request for a religious exemption and fire him could end up ruining his career as a pediatric intensive care physician unless the court steps in.
Even if Halczenko convinces the Seventh Circuit that potential career damage merits a preliminary injunction, he’d have to clear several other hurdles to win a court order against Ascension.
The case gives the circuit court a chance to either reinforce or lower the legal barriers that so far have prevented workers from obtaining immediate court orders against private employers that denied their requests for exceptions to Covid-19 vaccine mandates.
District courts have rejected all the requests for preliminary injunctions that they’ve ruled on in those cases as of May 17, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis.
Workers...
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