Arizona files first lawsuit challenging Biden's employer vaccine mandate

[Valin]

The Washington Examiner

Kaelan Deese, Breaking News Reporter

September 15, 2021

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of President Joe Biden's administration’s COVID-19 vaccination plan.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in search of declaratory relief, marks one of the first legal pursuits after numerous lawmakers from Republican-led states vowed to challenge Biden's executive order last week. The order mandates employers require vaccines if they employ more than 100 workers, giving workers the option to be subjected to weekly tests as an alternative.

"The federal government cannot force people to get the COVID-19 vaccine," Brnovich said in a statement. "The Biden Administration is once again flouting our laws and precedents to push their radical agenda. There can be no serious or scientific discussion about containing the spread of COVID-19 that doesn't begin at our southern border."

REPUBLICAN STATES PREPARE FOR LEGAL SHOWDOWN OVER BIDEN VACCINE MANDATE

Brnovich also criticized the "illegality and incoherence of Defendants’ policies, [which] is also apparent in their differential treatment among immigrants," citing a press conference during which White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the coming vaccine mandate does not include illegal immigrants.

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[Valin]

Florida joins suit against vaccine mandate for Gainesville city employees

John Haughey, The Center Square contributor

September 15, 2021

It didn’t take long for the state to take action after Gov. Ron DeSantis affirmed Monday that under a new state law, Florida will fine local governments $5,000 for each employee required to be vaccinated, threatening some municipalities with punitive levies of “millions and millions of dollars.”

“We are not going to let people get fired because of the vaccine mandate,” DeSantis said in Alachua County where the city of Gainesville is requiring all its workers get vaccinated as a condition of employment.

“You don’t just cast aside people who have been serving faithfully over this issue, over what’s basically a personal choice over their individual health,” the governor said.

In addition to Gainesville, Orange and Leon counties have passed mandatory vaccine policies for employees with exemptions for religious or medical reasons. Other municipalities, such as Miami-Dade Country and the city of Tampa, have adopted policies that require vaccination or weekly tests for the unvaccinated.

More than 200 Gainesville employees, including police and firefighters, have sued the city, which is requiring they be vaccinated by the end of September or lose their jobs.

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[Valin]

Sept. 14 2021

In swift fashion, more than 20 Governors and/or state attorneys general – all of them Republicans – have announced their plans to not only oppose President Joe Biden’s sweeping jab and COVID-testing requirement on businesses with 100 and more employees, but also to bring near-immediate legal action to block the Biden move.