This section is still under construction. As a result, the information currently provided is sparse and not indicative of what will be regularly offered. Please check back again soon for updates.
I sent an email to our AG, Todd Rokita, on Nov. 11, asking what progress his office had made fighting the mandates. Surprisingly, I received a response last week. Here it is:
"Thank you for contacting the Office of the Indiana Attorney General. We share your concerns about the Biden Administrations unlawful COVID-19 vaccine mandates. That is why Attorney General Rokita announced on November 4th that Indiana would be filing three separate lawsuits against the federal government to protect Hoosiers from this gross federal overreach.
Attorney General Rokita along with attorneys general of Louisiana and Mississippi together filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to overturn the mandate for federal contractors. This mandate — issued by executive order with no congressional authorization — affects one-fifth of the American workforce directly and the entire economy indirectly. The mandate usurps state authority in a core area of state sovereignty, public health, and does so by relying on federal procurement laws that have nothing to do with health. A federal court recently issued a nationwide injunction; as a result, federal contractors are not mandated by the federal government to impose vaccination requirements on their workers.
Indiana filed a second lawsuit to halt the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule forcing all employers with 100 or more workers to require all employees to be vaccinated (or produce weekly negative COVID-19 tests). The 5th Circuit Court U.S. Court of Appeals has since reaffirmed the decision to halt this unlawful mandate, and OSHA has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation.
Lastly, Attorney General Rokita filed a third lawsuit against the Biden Administration on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rule requiring all health care workers at facilities participating in Medicare and/or Medicaid to be vaccinated. This particular vaccine mandate causes grave danger to the vulnerable persons whom Medicare and Medicaid were designed to protect — the poor, sick and elderly — by forcing the termination of heroic caregivers who are essential to providing health care services. A federal judge has since granted our request for a nationwide injunction, halting the federal mandate for our healthcare heroes.
Together, the OSHA and CMS rules cover at least two-thirds of all U.S. workers, most of whom have been on the front lines every day during this pandemic. We will use every means at our disposal to protect Hoosiers’ liberties from this president’s gross executive overreach.
You can find an outline of the federal vaccine mandates and the current status of each on our website here. To receive updates on this topic and others impacting Hoosiers, please click here to subscribe.
Under current Indiana law, private companies can legally require vaccines. Private employers can demand vaccine documentation and set their own rules governing how, when, and at whose cost vaccines are required. They may discipline or terminate employees for failing to comply with company rules, so long as they do so fairly and in accordance with the law. Many private employers with vaccine requirements acknowledge medical and religious exemptions. You should consult your own attorney for further guidance on your legal rights and personal circumstances.
If you need help obtaining a lawyer, the Indiana State Bar Association partners with the Coalition for Court Access to connect the public with appropriate legal resources. Click here to learn about hiring a lawyer and for answers to your law-related questions.
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