The Louisiana Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether a hospital system can require its employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.
The case of Nelson v. Ochsner began in September as a lawsuit filed on behalf of 47 employees — most of them nurses — against Ochsner Lafayette General hospital after Ochsner Health, the state’s largest medical system, announced it would require all employees to take a coronavirus vaccine, apply for an exemption or face termination. The case was consolidated with Hayes v. University Health Shreveport, a nearly identical lawsuit filed by the same attorney, Jim Faircloth.
Faircloth has worked on several other lawsuits pushing back on government COVID-19 mitigation efforts over the last two years. He also worked as former Gov. Bobby Jindal’s general counsel.
At the hearing, Faircloth said his clients have “an affirmative right” to be free from forced medical treatment.
“My clients have the right to request that the government protect them,” he said.
He then argued that Ochsner’s employment relationship should be treated as a doctor-patient relationship and said the employees should be protected under the state’s informed consent statute. Forced vaccinations are a violation of the informed consent that medical professionals are required to obtain, Faircloth said.
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