Federal judge dismisses lawsuit over Doña Ana County COVID-19 vaccine mandate
LAS CRUCES – A federal code has ruled that Doña Ana County's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees, instituted in 2021, did not violate U.S. statute.
County Manager Fernando Macias issued a directive on Jan. 29, 2021, mandating the vaccinations for certain county employees. It applied to county fire and EMS staff, law enforcement officers, detention center officers and other employees who had contact with detainees. Volunteer firefighters and EMTs were "strongly encouraged" to be vaccinated as well.
The county's mandate was later expanded to include all new employees.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission advised in 2021 that employers may require employees to be vaccinated, provided they grant accommodations for disabilities or religious beliefs.
Two detention center officers — Isaac Legaretta and Anthony Zoccoli — refused to accept the vaccine or seek an accommodation as permitted under the directive. Legaretta resigned after he was reassigned at work. Zoccoli claimed he was terminated for refusing the vaccine, although county attorney Nelson Goodin said his separation came about for reasons unrelated to the vaccine.
The Las Cruces Sun-News has reached out to the employees' attorney, Ana Garner, for comment. Garner is a lead attorney for New Mexico Stands Up, a group that opposes COVID-19 public health emergency directives. She did not immediately respond to a query from the Sun-News.
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As with similar court challenges to vaccine mandates in the past, the federal complaint alleged the vaccine mandate violated the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The federal law requires disclosures to individuals about medical products, including vaccines, that are not fully approved, including the option refuse it.
At the time of the lawsuit, all three vaccines used in the United States to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus were in the midst of the clinical trial process and being distributed under emergency use authorizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
U.S. District Judge Martha Vázquez dismissed that argument since Comirnaty, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, is now fully approved. Moreover, she ruled that nothing in the law prevented the county from requiring employees be vaccinated.
She cited a similar claim from Texas, Bridges v. Houston Methodist Hospital, in which U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes ruled the FDCA "confers certain powers and responsibilities to the Secretary of Health and Human Services in an emergency. It neither expands nor restricts the responsibilities of private employers … "
Vázquez found that the county's mandate was within the bounds of law and justified by a "governmental purpose of stemming the spread of COVID-19, especially in the wake of the many variants that have mutated from the original virus..."
Moreover, she rejected arguments that the mandate denied workers substantive due process, or violated their constitutional or human rights.
While dismissing the plaintiffs' claims under federal law, Vázquez effectively passed over claims that the county had violated New Mexico's whistleblower law or retaliated against the employees, stating those claims "are best left for a state court's determination."
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Macias expressed the county's satisfaction with the ruling in a statement Monday, writing, "... the vaccines are proven to be effective in reducing serious illness, hospitalization and the likelihood of spreading the virus. … We think it is paramount to protect our first responders who must have face-to-face contact with the public in ways that may increase the risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19."
Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Doña Ana County lawsuit over COVID-19 vaccine mandate dismissed by judge
