Feds for Med. Freedom v. Biden

• Citation: 30 F.4th 503
• Decision Date: 07 April 2022
• Docket Number: 22-40043
• Parties: FEDS FOR MEDICAL FREEDOM; Local 918, American Federation of Government Employees; Highland Engineering, Incorporated; Raymond A. Beebe, Jr.; John Armbrust; et al., Plaintiffs—Appellees, v. Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr., in his official capacity as President of the United States; The United States of America; Pete Buttigieg, in his official capacity as Secretary of Transportation; Department of Transportation ; Janet Yellen, in her official capacity as Secretary of Treasury ; et al., Defendants—Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

30 F.4th 503

FEDS FOR MEDICAL FREEDOM; Local 918, American Federation of Government Employees; Highland Engineering, Incorporated; Raymond A. Beebe, Jr.; John Armbrust; et al., Plaintiffs—Appellees,

v.Joseph R. BIDEN, Jr., in his official capacity as President of the United States; The United States of America; Pete Buttigieg, in his official capacity as Secretary of Transportation; Department of Transportation ; Janet Yellen, in her official capacity as Secretary of Treasury ; et al., Defendants—Appellants.

No. 22-40043

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

FILED April 7, 2022

R. Trent McCotter, Jared Kelson, Boyden Gray & Associates, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs-Appellees.

Casen Ross, Sarah Wendy Carroll, Charles Wylie Scarborough, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, Appellate Section, Washington, DC, James Garland Gillingham, U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Texas, Tyler, TX, for Defendants-Appellants.

Gene Patrick Hamilton, America First Legal Foundation, Washington, DC, for Amicus Curiae America First Legal Foundation.

Jordan E. Pratt, First Liberty Institute, Washington, DC, for Amici Curiae 45 Members of Congress and 57 Members of Congress.

John Julian Vecchione, New Civil Liberties Alliance, Washington, DC, for Amici Curiae Isaac McLaughlin, Gabriel Escoto, Michelle Ruth Morton, Waddie Burt Jones, Ryan Charles Biggers, Carole Leann Mezzacapo, Edward Bryan Surgeon, Susan Reynolds, Roy Kenneth Egbert, George Gammon, Doris Forshee, John Luff, April Hanson, Dan Parente, Steve Hanley, and James Rodden.

Lowell Harrison Becraft, Jr., Esq., Huntsville, AL, for Amicus Curiae Institute for Health Research.

Before Barksdale, Stewart, and Dennis, Circuit Judges.

Carl E. Stewart, Circuit Judge:

On September 9, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14043, which mandates COVID-19 vaccination

for all executive branch employees, subject to medical and religious exceptions. Several plaintiffs filed suit, alleging that the President exceeded his authority. The district court found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their claim and that the equities favored them. It therefore preliminarily enjoined enforcement of the Order nationwide. The Government appealed.

For the following reasons, we VACATE the district court's preliminary injunction and REMAND to the district court with instructions to DISMISS for lack of jurisdiction.

I. FACTS & PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Executive Order 14043 provides that "[e]ach agency shall implement, to the extent consistent with applicable law, a program to require COVID-19 vaccination

for all of its Federal employees, with exceptions only as required by law." Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees, 86 Fed. Reg. 50,989, 50,990 (Sept. 9, 2021). The Order directed the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force to publish guidance on implementing the vaccine mandate. Id. at 50,989. President Biden issued the Order "[b]y the authority vested in [him] as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including" 5 U.S.C. §§ 3301, 3302, and 7301. Id.

On September 13, 2021, the Task Force published guidance directing agencies to apply their usual processes for evaluating religious and medical exceptions to the mandate. See Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, Vaccinations, https://go.usa.gov/xe5aC (last visited April 7, 2022). It also required non-exempt employees to be fully vaccinated by November 22, 2021, id. , but the Government later postponed that deadline to early 2022. Under the guidance, non-exempt employees who either refuse vaccination

or fail to disclose whether they have received a vaccine face escalating disciplinary procedures that include counseling, suspension, and termination. Id. Employees are not subject to discipline while their exception requests are pending, and they have two weeks after an exception request's denial to receive their first (or only) dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Id.

On December 21, 2021, a 6,000-member organization called "Feds for Medical Freedom," along with several other organizations and individual plaintiffs, challenged Executive Order 14043 in federal court. They moved for a nationwide preliminary injunction, alleging that the Order likely exceeds the President's authority. The district court agreed and granted preliminary injunctive relief on January 21, 2022. It recognized that "the federal-worker mandate had already been challenged in several courts across the country."¹ Feds for Med. Freedom v. Biden ("Feds for Med. Freedom I") , No. 3:21-CV-356, ––– F. Supp. 3d ––––, ––––, 2022 WL 188329, at *2 (S.D. Tex. Jan. 21, 2022). However, the district court attempted to distinguish those cases as having fallen victim to "procedural missteps by the plaintiffs or a failure to show imminent harm." Id.

The district court rejected the Government's argument that the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 ("CSRA"), 5 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq. , deprived it of jurisdiction. Id. at –––– – ––––, 2022 WL 188329 at *2–3. Specifically, it held that the CSRA did not apply because this case involves a "challenge [to] the mandate pre-enforcement," whereas the CSRA contemplates review after an employee suffers an adverse employment action. Id. The district court also held that some of the plaintiffs had ripe claims because those who were not seeking exemptions "face[d] an inevitable firing."

Id. at ––––, 2022 WL 188329 at *3. As to the merits, the district court broke with every other court to consider the issue and held that the plaintiffs were likely to show that neither the Constitution nor federal statute authorized Executive Order 14043. Id. at –––– – ––––, 2022 WL 188329 at *4–6. It also found that the plaintiffs were likely to suffer irreparable harm absent an injunction and that the equities and public interest favored the plaintiffs. Id. at ––––, ––––, 2022 WL 188329 at *4, *7. The district court therefore enjoined enforcement of Executive Order 14043 nationwide.

The Government appealed. Meanwhile, the Government moved the district court for a stay of its order, which the district court eventually denied. While that motion remained pending in the district court, the Government separately moved this court for a stay. A divided panel carried the Government's motion with the case and expedited this appeal. Feds for Med. Freedom v. Biden ("Feds for Med. Freedom II") , 25 F.4th 354, 355 (5th Cir. 2022).

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

"This court reviews the grant or denial of a preliminary injunction for abuse of discretion, with any underlying legal determinations reviewed de novo and factual findings for clear error." Topletz v. Skinner , 7 F.4th 284, 293 (5th Cir. 2021).

III. DISCUSSION

The Government argues that the district court erroneously granted the plaintiffs preliminary relief from Executive Order 14043. "A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy." La Union Del Pueblo Entero v. Fed. Emergency Mgmt. Agency , 608 F.3d 217, 219 (5th Cir. 2010). A court should issue one only if the movant establishes the following: "(1) a substantial likelihood of prevailing on the merits; (2) a substantial threat of irreparable injury if the injunction is not granted; (3) the threatened injury outweighs any harm that will result to the non-movant if the injunction is granted; and (4) the injunction will not disserve the public interest." Id.

A. Jurisdiction

We first consider the Government's argument that the CSRA precluded the district court's subject matter jurisdiction. "When courts lack subject matter jurisdiction over a case, they lack the power to adjudicate the case." Nat'l Football League Players Ass'n v. Nat'l Football League , 874 F.3d 222, 225 (5th Cir. 2017). Accordingly, this court examines "jurisdiction whenever subject matter jurisdiction appears ‘fairly in doubt.’ " Id. (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 671, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ).

i. Background on the CSRA

The CSRA established "the comprehensive and exclusive procedures for settling work-related controversies between federal civil-service employees and the federal government." Rollins v. Marsh , 937 F.2d 134, 139 (5th Cir. 1991). Before the CSRA, administrative and judicial review under the civil service system was "haphazard," resulting from the "outdated patchwork of statutes and rules built up over almost a century." United States v. Fausto , 484 U.S. 439, 444, 108 S.Ct. 668, 98 L.Ed.2d 830 (1988) (quoting S. REP. No. 95–969, at 3 (1978)). This pre-existing system drew "widespread" criticism, including that it produced inconsistent judicial decisions on similar matters due to the "concurrent jurisdiction, under various bases of jurisdiction, of district courts in all Circuits and the Court of Claims." Id. at 445, 108 S.Ct. 668. In response, Congress enacted the CSRA, which imposed "an integrated scheme of administrative and judicial review, designed to balance the legitimate interests of the various categories of federal employees with the needs of sound and efficient administration." Id.

"Under the [CSRA], certain federal employees may obtain administrative and judicial review of specified adverse employment actions." Elgin v. Dep't of Treasury , 567 U.S. 1, 5, 132 S.Ct. 2126, 183 L.Ed.2d 1 (2012). "Subchapter II of Chapter 75 governs review of major adverse actions taken against employees ‘for such cause as will promote the efficiency of the service.’ " Id. (quoting 5 U.S.C. §§ 7503(a), 7513(a) ). These provisions apply to employees in the competitive service and to certain excepted service employees.² 5 U.S.C. § 7511(a)(1). They provide procedural protections when eligible employees face major adverse actions, which includes removals, suspensions for more than fourteen days, pay or grade reductions, and furloughs lasting thirty days or less. Id. § 7512.

The CSRA distinguishes between employees facing "proposed" adverse action and those who have already suffered adverse action. See 5 U.S.C. § 7513(b), (d...