DoD settles COVID vaccine mandate lawsuits for $1.8 million – By Meghann Myers (Military Times) / Oct 9, 2023
Two lawsuits filed by service members challenging the Defense Department’s now-defunct COVID-19 vaccine mandate have ended in a settlement, according to an agreement filed Tuesday in a Florida federal court.
A judge awarded Liberty Counsel, the firm representing plaintiffs in Navy SEALs 1-26 v. Biden and Colonel Financial Management Officer, et al. v. Austin, $1.8 million to cover legal fees incurred during the cases, which were filed following Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s fall 2021 announcement that the COVID-19 vaccine would become mandatory for all troops.
“The military COVID shot mandate is dead,” Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel’s chairman, said in a statement. “Our heroic service members can no longer be forced to take this experimental jab that conflicts with their religious convictions.”
Several lawsuits popped up in the wake of the new mandate, many arguing that troops were unfairly denied religious exemptions to the vaccine and therefore faced involuntary separation from service.
