Legal experts said there already was a growing consensus that employers could mandate an emergency vaccine. During the pandemic, both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice issued guidance in support of vaccine mandates, provided exceptions were made for medical conditions and religious beliefs.
Most of the cases prominently feature arguments that vaccines approved on an emergency basis could not be required, seizing on language in the emergency authorization law that requires consent from the vaccine recipient. "Quite the opposite, he was advised that he would be fired if he did so," said the Legaretta lawsuit, which was filed in February and is pending.
Legal experts said challenges to vaccine mandates will almost certainly persist, particularly against public employers or public universities and colleges, which involve allegations of governments infringing on an individual's Constitutional rights. That argument does not apply to private employers.