Hayes v. University Health Shreveport, LLC

Overview

Hayes v. University Health Shreveport, LLC (La. Sup. Ct., Jan. 7, 2022): The Supreme Court of Louisiana upheld a private health provider’s right to dismiss employees for failure to comply with vaccination mandate. Defendant medical centers imposed an employee COVID-19 vaccination requirement (with exceptions permitted for medical or religious reasons), noting that non-compliant employees could face disciplinary action including dismissal. Plaintiff employees sought to block the policy, arguing it was unlawful and violated rights to privacy and to refuse medical treatment. The Louisiana Supreme Court determined that because the plaintiffs were at-will employees, their employer was permitted to dismiss them for non-compliance with company policies, and, likewise, employees were able to leave employment at any time to seek new employment. Constitutional arguments concerning privacy additionally failed, as these provisions limit the actions of governmental actors, not private employers. Read the full decision here.

View all cases in the Judicial Trends in Public Health – March 18, 2022.

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