October 22, 2021
Texas’s controversial abortion ban will stand – for now. So says the Supreme Court in this 7-page order released this morning. But the high court also says they will expedite a hearing on the legalities surrounding that law. And I’m talking – expedited. Oral arguments will take place in just 10 days.
Here’s what’s interesting. The high court will not directly consider the substance of the Texas abortion law. Instead, the justices will answer two questions. The first – whether Texas’s unusual enforcement mechanism that allows private citizens to civilly sue constitutionally protected abortion providers — and by default – insulating the state of Texas from federal-court review… is legal. The second – whether the Department of Justice has the right to sue or block this state law.
It’s important to note – as this case moves through the supreme court process – the justices have also said that the law can remain in effect in Texas. There’s no timeframe for when a decision will be made.
The oral arguments will happen on Monday, November 1.
The Supreme Court will also still hear case of the Mississippi abortion law the following month on December 1.
Read the Supreme Court order here.
PLUS
If a Covid19 vaccine is required by your employer and you refuse and get fired can you qualify for unemployment benefits? And what ever happened to the president’s order that companies with more than 100 employees must either mandate the vaccine or submit to rigorous testing requirements.
Both valid questions. And before I get into them…let me just say the supreme court has repeatedly upheld state and private business vaccine mandates as legal both over the years and three times so far in 2021.
So, let’s answer those questions.
First — if you’re fired for refusing the Covid19 vaccine as a term of your employment, can you collect unemployment benefits. Every state is different, but generally, no. However, there are some loopholes. Workers typically qualify for unemployment benefits if they are terminated through no fault of their own. But experts say they forfeit unemployment benefits if they leave a position on their own volition or if they are terminated for cause, such as because they failed to comply with company policy…like a vaccine mandate. Again, every state takes a different stance on employment vaccine mandates and how to handle terminations as a result of non-compliance. Fired employees – in some cases, but not all – can challenge the unemployment benefit denial if your employer — doesn’t have a formal Covid19 vaccine policy that you’ve been made aware of or if your employer refuses your medical or religious exemption because it cannot be reasonably accommodated – and the state unemployment office finds that you in fact *do* have a valid excuse. That might not always work though because your employer can legally deny your exemption. Many states handle these issues on a case-by-case basis — so it’s up to you to check with your state unemployment regulations.
And second – what happened to the president’s vaccine mandate or rigorous testing option for private companies with more than one-hundred employees? Well, as I told you when the announcement was made in this video – it’s up to the labor department and osha to come up with the actual policy and language and distribute that to the states. Right now – the labor department has been meeting with lobbyists from more than 40 labor unions and groups opposed to the vaccine mandates and other interested parties. No official timeline has been given for when the osha and labor department rules will be made public. Some private companies have implemented their own vaccine or testing mandates ahead of the labor department rules and that is absolutely their right.
