HELENA — A federal judge has struck down portions of Montana’s “vaccine discrimination” law, ruling it unconstitutional with respect to employers and employees in the healthcare setting.
Montana’s HB 702 prevents Montana employers from discriminating against individuals based on their vaccination status and effectively prevents employers from requiring vaccines of any kind for employment.
The Montana Medical Association, the Montana Nurses Association, many medical facilities, and affected individuals are committed to maintaining current best practices to protect patients and staff from vaccine-preventable diseases. He challenged the law as “endangering the competence of physicians” and argued that the law was void. Unconstitutional for medical facilities.
On Friday, Judge Donald W. Molloy of the United States District Court for the District of Montana ruled that HB 702 violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule. He also ruled that it was unconstitutional in light of the Equal Protection Clause of the Montana and United States Constitutions and the Inalienable Rights Clause of the Montana Constitution.
Molloy noted, among other things, that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to consider accommodations to create a safe working environment for workers, including immunocompromised employees. Did.
“Health care employers may seek to limit exposure to unvaccinated individuals because they are deprived by law of their ability to require vaccination or immunity status of their employees. We are unable to adequately consider possible reasonable accommodation,” Molloy wrote in the judgment. .
Molloy goes on to say that HB 702 “removes an essential tool from a healthcare provider’s toolbox to stop or minimize the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.”
Republican-backed HB 702 was passed by the 2021 Montana Legislature on a bipartisan ballot and was signed into law on May 7, 2021 by Republican Governor Greg Gianforte. Businesses and organizations that need a COVID-19 vaccine to return to work.
Plaintiffs allege that HB 702 far exceeds the impact of COVID-19, and that before the pandemic hit, hospitals routinely needed vaccines for certain employees, such as influenza and hepatitis B. I pointed out that
“House Bill 702 and this case were never just about COVID. Hospitals and clinics should be allowed to make their own decisions about whether they need MMR vaccines, hepatitis vaccines, etc. said Raf Greyville, PC’s Greyville Law Firm, MNA’s lead attorney. “The court’s decision ensures that Montana residents have access to safe, high-quality health care without arbitrary government intervention.”
In a statement to the Montana Free PressA spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Justice said it was reviewing the ruling and determining next steps.
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