Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Air Force Vaccine Mandate Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: The U.S. Air Force is asking a Georgia federal court to not certify a class of service members arguing they should be exempt from following its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
- Why: The Air Force argues the service members’ claims they should be religiously exempt is too broad to address as one group.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Georgia federal court.
The U.S. Air Force is asking a Georgia federal court to decline to certify a Class of service members claiming they should be religiously exempt from having to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Air Force is arguing the proposed class would be too broad to be able to address as one group.
“This highly individualized review precludes the propriety of classwide litigation,” the Air Force said in its opposition brief, while citing a Supreme Court precedent requiring individual assessments on Religious Freedom Restoration Act claims.
The four anonymous Air Force plaintiffs asked the court on May 3 to certify a class of potentially thousands of servicemembers who they say were wrongly denied religious exemptions from following the Air Force’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The proposed class includes servicemembers who have received a denial or will in the future be denied a religious exemption from having to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Air Force Argues Claims Made By Service Members Are Improper
The Air Force, meanwhile, also argues the language about future servicemembers having their religious exemption requests denied makes it impossible to determine class membership.
“First, a case is not ripe when the claim is ‘dependent on “contingent future events that may not occur as anticipated, or indeed may not occur at all,”’” the Air Force says in its court filing.
The Air Force further argues a proposed “fail-safe” class is also improper due to the fact its “membership can only be determined after the entire case has been litigated and the court can determine who actually suffered an injury.”
This is not the first lawsuit involving COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
In February, a judge rejected an attempt by Hawaiian Airlines staff members to block their employer’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Have you been denied a request for exemption from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Michael R. Hirsh of Hirsh Law Office LLC; Adam S. Hochschild of Hochschild Law Firm; Stephen M. Crampton, Mary C. Hodes and Michael McHale of the Thomas More Society; and Paul M. Jonna of LiMandri & Jonna LLP.
The Air Force Vaccine Mandate Class Action Lawsuit is A.F. Officer v. Lloyd J. Austin, et al., Case No. 5:22-cv-00009, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
