Arizona, 11 other states sue Biden over vaccine mandate for health care workers
Nov 16, 2021, 8:17 AM | Updated: 8:35 am
A nursing home employee receives a coronavirus shot in New York on Jan. 15. In the Washington area and across the country, many nursing home workers have been wary of getting vaccinated. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)
(Yuki Iwamura/AP)
PHOENIX – Arizona and 11 other states have filed another lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the latest challenging requirements for certain health care workers.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and the coalition filed the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
The suit alleges that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services COVID-19 vaccine mandate on facilities that receive federal funding exceeds the agency’s authority and violates the Social Security Act’s prohibition on regulations that control the hiring and firing of health care workers.
The suit also argues that the vaccine policy violates multiple federal laws, clauses, and doctrines and the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, according to court documents.
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Brnovich, who is running for U.S. Senate in 2022, called health care workers “heroes”
in a press release.
“It’s our turn to protect their individual liberties and ensure that all Americans can continue to make their own choices regarding COVID-19 vaccines,” he said.
Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia also signed on to the complaint.
All the states involved have Republican attorneys general.
After Biden announced plans to implement a vaccine requirement for large businesses in September, Brnovich filed a suit against the policy before it had been finalized.
A federal judge did not grant Brnovich’s restraining order in that case last week.
Arizona also is part of a separate multistate suit challenging new Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules that say companies with more than 100 employees must require unvaccinated workers to take weekly tests and wear face masks.
