Court rehears fight over vaccine mandate for federal workers

By KEVIN McGILL
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The question of whether the Biden administration can require federal employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 has been argued in an appeals court in New Orleans for a second time. Earlier this year, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Biden requirement. But the full appeals court decided to rehear the case. The administration argued Tuesday that the president has the same authority as the CEO of a private corporation to require that employees be vaccinated. Opponents say the policy is an unconstitutional encroachment on federal workers’ lives and that Biden lacks the authority to impose it.