Doster v. Kendall
| Decision Date | 29 November 2022 |
| Docket Number | 22-3497,22-3702 |
| Parties | Hunter Doster; Jason Anderson; McKenna Colantanio; Paul Clement; Joe Dills; Benjamin Leiby; Brett Martin; Connor McCormick; Heidi Mosher; Peter Norris; Patrick Pottinger; Alex Ramsperger; Benjamin Rinaldi; Douglas Ruyle; Christopher Schuldes; Edward Stapanon, III; Adam Theriault; Daniel Reineke, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Hon. Frank Kendall, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Air Force; Lt. General Robert I. Miller, in his official capacity as Surgeon General of the Air Force; Lt. General Marshall B. Webb, in his official capacity as Commander, Air Education and Training Command; Lt. General Richard W. Scobee, in his official capacity as Commander, Air Force Reserve Command; Lt. General James C. Slife, in his official capacity as Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command; United States of America, Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (6th Circuit) |
Argued: October 19, 2022
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio at Cincinnati. No. 1:22-cv-00084-Matthew W McFarland, District Judge.
ARGUED:
Casen B. Ross, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington D.C., for Appellants.
Christopher Wiest, CHRIS WIEST, ATTY AT LAW, PLLC, Crestview Hills, Kentucky, for Appellees.
ON BRIEF:
Casen B. Ross, Charles W. Scarborough, Lowell V. Sturgill Jr., Sarah J. Clark, Anna O. Mohan, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Appellants.
Christopher Wiest, CHRIS WIEST, ATTY AT LAW, PLLC, Crestview Hills, Kentucky, Aaron Siri, Elizabeth A. Brehm, Wendy Cox, SIRI AND GLIMSTAD LLP, New York, New York, Thomas B. Bruns, BRUNS CONNELL VOLLMAR & ARMSTRONG, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Appellees.
Matthew F. Kuhn, OFFICE OF THE KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL, Frankfort, Kentucky, Frederick R. Yarger, WHEELER TRIGG O'DONNELL LLP, Denver, Colorado, Ilya Shapiro, New York, New York, Gene C. Schaerr, Kenneth A. Klukowski, SCHAERR | JAFFE LLP, Washington, D.C., John Eidsmoe, FOUNDATION FOR MORAL LAW, Montgomery, Alabama, for Amici Curiae.
Before: KETHLEDGE, BUSH, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
The Department of the Air Force has ordered all of its over 500,000 service members to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Some 10,000 members with a wide array of duties have requested religious exemptions from this mandate. The Air Force has granted only about 135 of these requests and only to those already planning to leave the service. Yet it has granted thousands of other exemptions for medical reasons (such as a pregnancy or allergy) or administrative reasons (such as a looming retirement). The 18 Plaintiffs who filed this suit allege that the vaccine mandate substantially burdens their religious exercise in violation of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA). Finding that these claims would likely succeed, the district court granted a preliminary injunction that barred the Air Force from disciplining the Plaintiffs for failing to take a vaccine. But its injunction did not interfere with the Air Force's operational decisions over the Plaintiffs' duties. The court then certified a class of thousands of similar service members and extended this injunction to the class.
The Air Force appeals the individual and class injunctions. Its briefs across the two appeals work at cross-purposes. In its challenge to the class-action certification, the Air Force (correctly) states that RFRA adopts an individual-by-individual approach: the Air Force must show that it has a compelling interest in requiring a "specific" service member to get vaccinated based on that person's specific duties and working conditions. Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal, 546 U.S. 418, 431 (2006). In its challenge to the Plaintiffs' injunction, however, the Air Force fails to identify the specific duties or working conditions of a single Plaintiff. It instead seeks to satisfy RFRA with the "general interests" underlying its vaccine mandate. Id. at 438. We are thus asked to deny that common questions exist for purposes of certifying a class but to accept that common answers exist for purposes of rejecting all 18 Plaintiffs' claims on their merits.
We decline this inconsistent invitation. Under RFRA, the Air Force wrongly relied on its "broadly formulated" reasons for the vaccine mandate to deny specific exemptions to the Plaintiffs, especially since it has granted secular exemptions to their colleagues. Id. at 431. We thus may uphold the Plaintiffs' injunction based on RFRA alone. The Air Force's treatment of their exemption requests also reveals common questions for the class: Does the Air Force have a uniform policy of relying on its generalized interests in the vaccine mandate to deny religious exemptions regardless of a service member's individual circumstances? And does it have a discriminatory policy of broadly denying religious exemptions but broadly granting secular ones? A district court can answer these questions in a "yes" or "no" fashion for the entire class. It can answer whether these alleged policies violate RFRA and the First Amendment in the same way. A ruling for the class also would permit uniform injunctive relief against the allegedly illegal policies. We affirm.
The Air Force lists its mission as: "Fly, fight, and win-airpower anytime, anywhere." R.34-2, PageID 2236. It seeks to ensure that the United States can maintain "air superiority" for all offensive operations overseas and defensive operations at home. R.34-3, PageID 2247. It also conducts aerial missions worldwide to gather intelligence transfer personnel and cargo, and strike targets. Id. The Air Force completes its critical duties through a structure that consists primarily of nine Major Commands and three Field Commands. R.34-2, PageID 2236. The Commands include over 3,000 squadrons that perform varied functions, ranging from fighter and bomber squadrons to medical and maintenance squadrons. Id., PageID 2235-36. To fill its squadrons, the Air Force relies on 501,000 service members spread across those on active duty (about 326,000), in the reserves (about 68,000), and in the Air National Guard (about 107,000). R.34-3, PageID 2248.
The "roles" of these individuals "differ vastly." R.34-2, PageID 2235. The duties of the Plaintiffs exemplify this diversity. Some perform tasks readily associated with the Air Force. Lieutenant Colonel Edward Stapanon trains fighter pilots; Major Daniel Reineke trains pilots for remotely piloted aircraft. R.45, PageID 3078-79; R.42-5, PageID 2964. Others plan for the future. Second Lieutenant Hunter Doster recently graduated from the Air Force Institute of Technology and develops new technology at the Air Force Research Lab. R.48, PageID 321115. Still others undertake the service functions required for a global air operation. Airman First Class McKenna Colantonio maintains fuel systems. R.42-1, PageID 2776. Senior Airman Joseph Dills helps passengers on and off planes. R.48, PageID 3254, 3270-71. While the Plaintiffs serve in varied roles, they all share an objection rooted in their faiths to taking any currently available COVID-19 vaccine.
The military has long imposed vaccine mandates. R.27-4, PageID 1564. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Defense required personnel to take some vaccines upon entering the service (including for the flu and polio) and others upon taking specific duty assignments (including for anthrax and yellow fever). Id.; R.27-6, PageID 1624.
After the FDA approved the first COVID-19 vaccine for regular use in August 2021, the Secretary of Defense added that vaccine to the list of required vaccinations. R.27-3, PageID 1561. The Secretary ordered all Armed Forces to receive an FDA-approved vaccine, but he also permitted them to satisfy this mandate by taking other vaccines approved for emergency use by the FDA or the World Health Organization. Id. The Secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall, directed active-duty members to get vaccinated by November 2 and reservists by December 2. R.27-7, PageID 1632. Within months, 97% of those on active duty and 92% of those in the reserves had willingly done so. R.27-17, PageID 1970.
Recognizing that some might object to the vaccine, Secretary Kendall permitted medical, administrative, and religious exemptions. R.27-7, PageID 1646, 1649. He also paused the mandate for those seeking exemptions while the Air Force processed their requests. R.27-8, PageID 1656.
Service members may seek medical exemptions for health reasons like a vaccine allergy. R.27-7, PageID 1646; R.27-12, PageID 1922-23. Pregnant service members may also obtain this exemption despite CDC guidance that they may safely get vaccinated. R.27-7, PageID 1645. To obtain exemptions, service members must notify their unit commanders and visit military medical providers. Id., PageID 1654. A provider decides whether to grant an exemption. Id. During any period of exemption, a unit commander may alter a service member's duties. Id., PageID 1647.
Service members may seek administrative exemptions if they are near retirement. Secretary Kendall initially limited this exemption to those on "terminal leave." Id., PageID 1649. These members stop working at the start of leave and retire at its end. R.27-16, PageID 1954. He later expanded the exemption to cover all personnel who planned to retire in five months, even those who planned to remain on active duty during this time. R.27-8, PageID 1656. Unit commanders decide whether to approve these exemptions. R.27-16, PageID 1954.
Service members may lastly seek religious exemptions. R.27-7, PageID 1649. Secretary Kendall relied on existing guidance...
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