The Louisiana Supreme Court has announced the date on which it will hear arguments for and against a proposed vaccine mandate by Ochsner Health. That mandate says that employees of Ochsner must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or face termination. Many employees within the Ochsner Health System have expressed concerns over that mandate.

Lower courts in the state have already offered decisions on the mandate. Unfortunately, there is a disagreement between those two rulings. The courts in northern Louisiana have sided with those who are against the mandate. The courts in South Louisiana have sided more with Ochsner in the dispute. Hence, the reason for the Supreme Court to act quickly and make a ruling a quickly as possible.

Ochsner Lafayette General
Facebook, Ochsner Lafayette General
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The Louisiana Radio Network spoke with Loyola University law professor Dane Ciolino and asked his opinion on what the justices of the Supreme Court might be looking at when the hearing on the matter opens on December 7th.

Ciolino cited Louisiana's position as an "at-will" state when it comes to employment. "At-will" simply means that an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any reason except an illegal one. Based on that knowledge Ciolino suggested through his comments in the LRN piece that Ochsner should prevail.

Man Takes COVID-19 Vaccine
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Regardless, the Justices of Louisiana's Supreme Court will let us know sometime after December 7th which direction the Ochsner vaccine mandate will go. There's no doubt that the Supreme Court's decision will be the first of many dominoes to fall on the issue of vaccine mandates by private companies, at least in Louisiana.

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