In Sambrano v. United Airlines, (5th Cir., Dec. 13, 2021), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, by a 2-1 vote, denied an injunction while an appeal is pending in a challenge by United Airlines employees to the company's vaccine mandate that lacks religious or medical exemptions. The majority in a 3-sentence opinion relied on the reasons stated by the district court in denying a preliminary injunction: namely plaintiffs must show "irreparable injury" in order to obtain an injunction, and mere loss of income is not irreparable-- it can be remedied by recovery of damages. (See prior posting.)
Judge Ho filed a dissenting opinion, saying in part:
Vaccine mandates like the one United is attempting to impose here present a crisis of conscience for many people of faith. It forces them to choose between the two most profound obligations they will ever assume—holding true to their religious commitments and feeding and housing their children.
To many, this is the most horrifying of Hobson’s choices. And it is a quintessentially irreparable injury, warranting preliminary injunctive relief.
