After ordering a temporary halt to a few COVID-19 vaccine-related firings at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory last week, a federal judge was scheduled to hear arguments next week about whether to extend the firing moratorium, according to court papers.
U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley in the Eastern District of Tennessee issued a temporary restraining order on Oct. 15, preventing the lab from placing a half-dozen vaccine holdouts on unpaid leave, according to online court documents. Four of these people sought religious exemptions and two sought medical exemptions.
The judge said the temporary restraining order should not be taken as a sign the court will issue a permanent injunction in the case. The injunction hearing was set for Oct. 26, though the temporary restraining order could be in place until Oct. 29, depending on how long the hearing takes.
On Aug. 26, 2021, Oak Ridge Lab Director Thomas Zacharia announced via email that the lab will require all employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the suit. Employees of UT-Battelle, the contractor partnership between Battelle and the University of Tennessee that runs Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the DOE’s Office of Science, gave employees until Oct. 15 to either turn in a vaccine card or secure an exemption.
President Joe Biden in September ordered all federal employees and contractors to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or find new jobs.
Jeffrey Bilyeu, Jennifer Bilyeu and four other plaintiffs filed their class action suit Oct. 12, seeking “to remedy UT-Battelle’s pattern of discrimination against employees who requested religious or medical accommodations from UT-Battelle’s mandate that its employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” according to the complaint. The plaintiffs say the lab is skirting the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
When several plaintiffs in the case sought a religious exemption to taking the vaccine, UT-Battelle responded “by offering only an indefinite period of unpaid leave,” according to the suit. UT-Battelle employees who are “accommodated” with unpaid leave, were told to turn in their site badges Oct. 15.
“UT-Battelle’s mandate is absolute—there is no alternative for remote work, periodic testing, mask wearing, or social distancing, even for employees who have already had COVID-19 and still enjoy immunity from the disease and for employees who have worked remotely throughout the pandemic,” according to the complaint.
Some of the plaintiffs feared they would lose their security clearances or health benefits while on unpaid leave. UT-Battelle’s attorney said neither of those things would happen, but a footnote in last week’s restraining order says it’s possible that “individual Plaintiffs were given contrary information” about loss of benefits or clearance.
