BISMARCK – A district judge Monday issued a preliminary injunction against the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. The ruling stated that “defendants shall immediately cease all implementation or enforcement of the Interim Final Rule with Comment Period as to any Medicare and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers” in the 10 states who were party to the motion, North Dakota included.
Minot’s Trinity Hospital had announced earlier that they would be enforcing a vaccine mandate for their employees as of December 6 with non-vaccinated employees subject to termination. Trinity had not responded as of late Monday.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, earlier placed a January 4, 2022 deadline for affected healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated. Most Trinity employees fall under the direction of CMS.
North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem issued a statement following Monday’s ruling.
“This is significant for healthcare workers in North Dakota, especially rural hospitals who were facing serious impacts due to this mandate.” Wayne Stenehjem, North Dakota Attorney General
“This is significant for healthcare workers in North Dakota, especially rural hospitals who were facing serious impacts due to this mandate,” said Stenehjem. “This lawsuit is not about whether people should get vaccinated. It is about federal overreach and the federal government using an unconstitutional mandate to force front-line health care workers to choose between a vaccination or unemployment.”
In response to Monday’s injunction Governor Doug Burgum said, “Safe, effective vaccines remain our best defense against COVID-19, but imposing unlawful mandates isn’t the solution. They are blatant overreach by the Biden Administration.”
In a 32-page response, District Judge Matthew T. Schelp concluded that CMS did not have the authority to issue the mandate and that its decision was both arbitrary and capricious.
