More than 100 top nuclear scientists with “highest security clearances” being fired from Los Alamos Lab due to vaccine mandate
Daniel Levi
Posted On October 19, 2021
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the laboratory that produced the first atomic bombs used during World War II and the home of the primary nuclear weapons research facility in the United States, is about to lose dozens of its top nuclear scientists.
According to a report from The Hill, more than 100 scientists, nuclear engineers, and others are being fired due to a vaccine mandate at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Hill said that dozens of top nuclear scientists with “highest security clearances in the nation” and PhDs in sciences and engineering will be fired from Los Alamos Lab after the deadline for Los Alamos National Lab employees to get vaccinated has come and gone. The report is a further confirmation that people with PhDs refused to get the vaccine than those with lower educational levels.
According to a Thursday report from the Hill, a total of 114 workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory filed a lawsuit over the mandate, claiming that “exemptions have been unduly denied and their constitutional rights are being violated by Triad National Security LLC, the contractor that runs the lab for the U.S. Department of Energy.”
In a tweet on Friday, AP reported that “a New Mexico judge denied a request by dozens of scientists and others at Los Alamos National Laboratory who sought to block a vaccine mandate. Workers risk being fired if they don’t comply with the lab’s Friday afternoon deadline.”
A New Mexico judge has denied a request by dozens of scientists and others at Los Alamos National Laboratory who sought to block a vaccine mandate. Workers risk being fired if they don't comply with the lab's Friday afternoon deadline. https://t.co/HkDSwN59u3
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 15, 2021
Then this week, the employees, including top nuclear engineers and scientists, took to the streets outside the lab, protesting the mandate which orders them to get their first dose of the Covid vaccine or face termination. The lab currently employs nearly 14,000 people and is one of the largest employers in the state of New Mexico.
The Hill also reported that it reached out to Triad National Security LLC and to the workers’ attorney for comment. “One anecdote from the case said that a worker was yelled at for being unvaccinated and told by a crew member that his family deserved to die,” The Hill reported.
Los Alamos National Laboratory employees estimate the lab could lose up to 10 percent of its total staff because of the mandate. Many of the plaintiffs in the case are specialists with high-level security clearances and expertise that would complicate finding new workers to replace them quickly, the AP said.
