Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles — flanked by several state legislators — declared a state of emergency in the county at a press conference on Thursday.
Ogles said the U.S. Constitution entitles health care workers to religious exemptions and other rights of conscience to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine. He also said the U.S. Constitution protects those workers from harassment or even job loss.
The Biden administration now mandates that healthcare workers vaccinate themselves against COVID-19, and Ogles warned his constituents Thursday that more than 1,000 local health care employees in Maury County could lose their jobs.
Tennessee Code Annotated 58-2-110, the Emergency Powers Act, authorizes the political subdivisions in the state, such as counties, to issue states of emergency. The Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill in the recent special session that stripped county public health departments of emergency powers and gave that authority to county mayors, in concert with local boards of health.
On Tuesday, Tennessee Commissioner of Health Dr. Lisa Piercy testified before members of the General Assembly that Tennessee is facing an impending health care crisis due to the lack of health care workers.
Ogles, on Thursday, issued a similar warning.
“The hospital could afford to lose 100 [people], and if we don’t take a stand and protect these workers then I’m in a situation where my hospital will struggle to function at best. I have declared a state of emergency to prevent the health care crisis and to ensure Maury Countians are able to get healthcare and, obviously, to protect the rights of workers and liberty,” Ogles told The Tennessee Star on Thursday.
“How do we do this in such a way that legally it will pass muster? Boom. We did it. So, I have been working for about three weeks with legal counsel to figure out how do we do this in such a way that would protect workers and protect the health care structure of Maury County.”
Biden’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the emergency regulations this month.
State Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) also spoke at Thursday’s press conference. He said other Tennessee mayors should also protect their own health care workers, hospitals, and nursing homes.
“A letter went out to all of those medical providers from members of the General Assembly urging them and asking them to honor the CMS guidelines that state that medical exemptions, disability exemptions, and religious exemptions should be honored by those asking to have those. This letter went out today. It will go to all hospitals, all medical providers across the state. A majority of members in the House of Representatives have signed this and members of the Senate also,” Cepicky said.
“So, we look forward to this discussion moving forward. Hopefully we can get back into January when the General Assembly reconvenes, and we can take this issue up and provide further protections for not only those health care workers but all workers and all citizens of Tennessee.”
Ogles, meanwhile, said Biden’s new federal regulations are an “abuse of power” and “unconscionable” and that Tennesseans must not tolerate them.
At Thursday’s press conference, Ogles spoke directly to health care workers.
“What I would encourage you to do is to file your religious exemption. Make them fire you,” Ogles said.
“Do not cave. And then we’ll take it from there.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Andy Ogles” by Andy Ogles.
