A federal judge in Montana recently blocked enforcement in healthcare settings of a first-in-the-nation law that had prohibited discrimination in employment and the provision of services based on vaccination status—including vaccination against COVID-19—finding the law is unconstitutional and preempted by federal law.
In the decision in Montana Medical Association v. Knudsen, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy permanently enjoined the state from enforcing Montana Code Section 49-2-312, in healthcare settings "as it relates to the COVID-19 vaccine against all health care facilities and individual practitioners and clinics" subject to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) COVID-19 requirement that health care facilities ensure their workers are vaccinated as long as the rule is in place.
The ruling makes permanent a preliminary injunction issued in the case in April 2022. In the permanent injunction decision, the judge stated that the "public interest in protecting the general populace against vaccine-preventable diseases in health care settings using safe, effective vaccines is not outweighed by the hardships experienced to accomplish that interest."
Background
In May 2021, Montana passed House Bill 702, becoming the first jurisdiction in the United States to recognize an individual's vaccination status as a protected category. The law further prohibited employers from requiring employees to disclose their immunization status and barred employers from...
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