The Houston Methodist hospital recently made headlines as a group of 117 employees filed a lawsuit against the hospital, after refusing to comply with their COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
The hospital’s policy established June 21st as the deadline to get immunized or being let go, but the unwilling employees claimed vaccines are unsafe and sued the hospital alleging it would be wrongful termination.
Houston Methodist nurse Jennifer Bridges is the lead plaintiff in the employees’ lawsuit “we want it fully FDA-approved, and we want more proper research before I’d be comfortable putting it into my body.” she said.
“This is anti-vaccination rhetoric, and unfortunately [it’s] at play within a healthcare professional,” responded Dr. Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist.
However, US District Court Judge Lynn Hughes ruled against Bridges and her coworkers last Saturday, also denying their request to block the employee’s suspension.
“It is a choice made to keep staff, patients, and their families safer. Bridges can freely choose to accept or refuse a COVID-19 vaccine; however, if she refuses she will simply need to work somewhere else” said Jude Hughes “The plaintiffs are not just jeopardizing their own health; they are jeopardizing the health of doctors, nurses, support staff, patients and their families.”
In December, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said companies can legally mandate their employees re-entering the workplace and new hires to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Jared Woodfill, Houston attorney and conservative activist representing the plaintiffs, said an appeal is coming.
