Siri & Glimstad: Sixth Circuit Denies Air Force's Request for Emergency Stay, Upholds Protection for Members

CINCINNATI, Sept. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 9, 2022, the United States 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Air Force's request for an emergency stay of the classwide injunction currently protecting over 10,000 Air Force Service members stating that, "the Department [of the Air Force] has granted only a comparative handful of religious exemptions, while granting thousands of medical and administrative ones [to its COVID-19 vaccine mandate], is itself at this state of the case significant proof of discrimination." 

Prior to the denial of the emergency stay by the 6^th Circuit, a U.S. District Court Judge, the Honorable Matthew W. McFarland, granted injunctive relief to over 10,000 Air Force class members in the Doster v. Kendall case. The class members in Doster consist of active duty, active reserve, reserve members, and national guard members of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, including cadets, appointees, and inductees, who submitted a religious accommodation request to the COVID-19 vaccine requirement and who were denied or are pending a decision. The current injunction prohibits the Air Force from taking any punitive or separation action against any class member. 

The Air Force has appealed the District Court's decision and oral argument will occur before a 3-judge panel on October 19, 2022. 

Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Aaron Siri, Wendy Cox, and Elizabeth Brehm at Siri & Glimstad; Chris Wiest, Attorney at Law, PLLC; and Thomas Bruns, with Bruns, Connell, Vollmar & Armstrong, LLC. Case documents relating to this class action, including the class-wide preliminary injunction order, are available at: https://www.sirillp.com/airforce/. 

SOURCE Siri & Glimstad LLP