More than 100 employees sued a Houston hospital for requiring COVID-19 vaccines, claiming they were forced to serve as “human guinea pigs.”

• More than 100 workers sue Houston Methodist Hospital over its vaccination mandate.

• Staff say the hospital is violating the Nuremberg Code prohibiting human experimentation.

• The hospital says the vaccines are not “experimental” and have been shown to be safe and effective.

• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Dozens of workers at Houston Methodist Hospital have sued their employer over a policy requiring them to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The complaint, filed Friday, includes the names of more than 100 staff members and alleges that the hospital “forced its employees to be human ‘guinea pigs’ as a condition of continuing to work.”

Houston Methodist made national headlines earlier this year when it announced it would require its 26,000 employees to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by June 7.

“Those who are not vaccinated by this date face suspension and possible termination,” the hospital said in an FAQ page published in April. The hospital’s policy also included exemptions for workers with sincerely held religious beliefs and certain medical conditions, including pregnancy.

The lawsuit called the COVID-19 vaccines “experimental” and noted that none had received full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Instead, the FDA granted “emergency use authorization” to the three main vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson.

Each of the vaccines has undergone rigorous clinical trials involving tens of thousands of participants. Pfizer and BioNTech have already applied for full approval of their vaccine and Moderna has announced plans to apply soon.

Workers say the hospital violates the Nuremberg Code banning human experimentation.

The lawsuit against Houston Methodist cited the 1947 Nuremberg Code, concerning medical ethics around consent and experimentation, asserting that workers had “the right to avoid the imposition of human experimentation.”

“It is shocking that the (Houston Methodist) policy memo does not recognize, appreciate or identify that the ‘mandatory vaccination’ and ‘vaccination program’ requires that the employee receive an injection of an experimental vaccine that has not been approved by the FDA.” says the lawsuit.

A Houston Methodist spokesperson told Insider in a statement that 99% of the network’s employees have already been fully vaccinated and that the hospital is “extremely proud of our employees for doing the right thing and protecting our patients from this deadly virus.”

The press release also emphasizes that there is a precedent for compulsory vaccination policy in hospitals.

“It is unfortunate that the few remaining employees who refuse to be vaccinated and prioritize our patients are reacting in this manner,” the statement said. “It is legal for health care settings to mandate vaccines, as we have done with the flu vaccine since 2009. COVID-19 vaccines have been shown through rigorous testing to be very safe and highly effective and are not experimental.”

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued updated guidance on vaccination mandates Friday, noting that federal laws allow employers to require COVID-19 vaccines for workers who are physically present in the workplace – provided that employers also include accommodations such as religious and medical accommodations. exemptions.

The lawsuit against Houston Methodist alleged that the hospital “arbitrarily denied” certain employees’ requests for religious and medical exemptions.

The suit requested that a judge order a temporary injunction to prevent the hospital from taking action against noncompliant employees while the case is pending.

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