Detention center policeman Isaac Legaretta is suing his supervisors and a county manager in New Mexico over a Doña Ana county mandate established for all employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Law enforcement attorney Ana Garner, who works for the non-profit New Mexico Stands Up!, Was also notified by the county that she would be fired for refusing the vaccine.
“You cannot be forced to be a human guinea pig when a product is experimental. We have a right to physical integrity, ”Garner told Bloomberg.
In August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that “vaccines cannot be mandatory”, even during emergency use authorization. In March 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission said that employees covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, cannot be forced to get the vaccine. On the New Mexico state website, there is currently no statement stating that the COVID-19 vaccine is mandatory.
“The Commission continues to closely monitor developments for a COVID-19 vaccine and is actively evaluating how a potential vaccine would interact with employers’ obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964 and other laws the Commission enforces, ”a spokeswoman for the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission told The Hill in December 2020.
President Joe Biden also commented on this issue in December, saying that he does not think the vaccine “should be mandatory”.
“I don’t think it should be mandatory. I would not require it to be mandatory. Just as I don’t think masks should be mandatory across the country, ”said Biden during a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware.
On January 29, Doña Ana County Manager, Fernando Macias, announced that all first respondents in the county, such as police, detention center officers and all employees in contact with “detainees”, should receive the COVID- vaccine. 19.
“It is necessary that, if you have not yet started vaccination, be vaccinated with your first dose on one of these days, or contact the Human Resources Department for accommodation,” said a memo from Macias. “Being vaccinated is a requirement and condition for maintaining employment in the County due to the significant health and safety risks arising from the hiring or dissemination of COVID-19.”
In his complaint to the county, Legaretta said he was threatened with dismissal and reported on the job several times. On February 17, he provided proof of a memo he received from the county notifying him that he had five days to present proof that he had received the COVID-19 vaccine.
Some states, like Tennessee, intend to ban the government from forcing people to receive immunizations or any medical treatment. The Religious Exemption Protection Act seeks to repeal Title 68 of the Tennessee code, signed into law in 1905, which says that if an individual refuses a state-ordered vaccine, he or she can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor and spend up to 30 days in prison. prison.
Legaretta is seeking an injunction against termination or reinstatement if he is potentially fired.