Over the holidays, the Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor at the Oak Ridge site in Tennessee and a former employee there filed summary judgment motions in a COVID-19-related wrongful termination lawsuit.
The prime, Amentum-led United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR), argues that as a government contractor, it has sovereign immunity from the lawsuit filed by Yolonda Riggs. As a backup, however, the company filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
The contractor filed its notice of appeal Dec. 21 with U.S. District Court Judge Charles Atchley in the Eastern District of Tennessee and was issued a Sixth Circuit case number on Dec. 26. Transcripts and other relevant case records should be filed with the appeals court by Jan. 9, 2024, according to the Sixth Circuit’s letter posted online.
This week, UCOR filed a “motion to stay” the district court proceedings on Wednesday, saying its sovereign immunity defense is immediately appealable to the higher court. Allowing the lower court proceedings to continue before the appeals court rules, would needlessly tie up district court resources, the contractor argued.
UCOR argues as a government contractor it is shielded from the suit brought by Riggs, a former radiation technician at Oak Ridge. In November, Judge Atchley refused to throw out the Riggs lawsuit prior to trial.
Prior to UCOR’s request for appeals court review, Riggs had been on schedule for an April jury trial in federal district court, according to court records.
The contractor admits Riggs, who unsuccessfully sought a religious exemption, never provided UCOR with any proof of COVID-19 vaccination and was ultimately fired on Jan. 10, 2022.
With the fading of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has dropped most of its pandemic emergency measures, including proof of vaccination.
