ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A correctional officer is suing a New Mexico county over its vaccination mandate for first responders and other employees, another legal battle during a pandemic that is testing local and federal health laws.
Isaac Legaretta says in a lawsuit filed in federal court on Feb. 26 that an order forcing Dona Ana County employees to take vaccines that are not yet fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration violates federal law.
Legaretta faces firing for refusing to get vaccinated. His attorney, N. Ana Garner, is seeking an injunction to stop the district from firing or disciplining the officer before a verdict is reached. The attorney said she is not aware of any similar lawsuit in the U.S., but would be surprised if there isn’t one.
The complaint focuses on the FDA’s emergency use authorization of the vaccines, noting that the clinical trials that regulators will rely on to make their final decision on whether to approve the vaccines are still ongoing. It could take two years to collect sufficient data to determine safety and effectiveness, the complaint says.
The complaint cites guidelines from the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including statements by federal health officials during a public meeting last year in which they explained that vaccines with emergency authorization may not be required.
The lawsuit also argues that federal law takes precedence over state law or local requirements such as Dona Ana County’s vaccination policy.
“The defendants’ lack of compliance with federal law clearly constitutes an impediment to the purpose of federal law, which is to prevent people from being coerced into taking unapproved drugs or vaccines,” the lawsuit states.
Dona Ana County District Attorney Nelson Goodin said the county stands behind its policy, citing FDA guidelines that consider state and local laws when it comes to vaccinations, as well as federal workplace guidelines that say employers can require vaccinations, with exceptions for religious or medical reasons.
Goodin said some exemptions have been granted for county employees, but most are vaccinated.
Dona Ana County is among a handful of places in New Mexico considered high-risk because rates of spread and the number of new cases per capita continue to exceed targets set by the state Department of Health. Goodin also pointed to lawsuits filed in New Mexico and elsewhere over prison conditions during the pandemic.
“We’re doing our best to protect the inmates of our facility, we’re doing our best to protect the employees that work in this facility and also the colleagues,” he said. “That’s the driving force – to provide a safe workplace and security for the inmates who don’t have the option to go home and quarantine.”
New Mexico health officials said Tuesday they were not aware of any other county or local government that currently requires first responders or other employees to be vaccinated. Top officials at the state’s largest health care providers have said since the vaccination campaign began months ago that they would not force their employees to get vaccinated given the emergency status.
None of the vaccine manufacturers with emergency approval in the US have yet applied for full approval.
Employers have turned to lawyers and human resources consultants to figure out how to handle vaccinations.
The lawsuit points out that despite a 1905 ruling that upheld states’ authority to enforce mandatory vaccination laws, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided many important cases over the decades recognizing the limits of state power and expanding the reach of the Bill of Rights. Firing Legaretta County for refusing to vaccinate would be a violation of his rights and would run counter to those previous rulings, according to the lawsuit.
