Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/21pdf/21a145_gfbi.pdf
Page Number: 5.0

Cite as:  595 U. S. ____ (2021) 

5 

GORSUCH, J., dissenting 

Hochul Releases Comprehensive Plan to Address Prevent-
able Health Care Staffing Shortage (Sept. 25, 2021), https://
www.governor.ny.gov/news/preparation-monday-vaccination-
deadline - governor-hochul-releases-comprehensive-plan-
address.  As the State’s website explains, unemployment in-
surance  cases  are  generally  “reviewed  on  a  case-by-case
basis,”  but  healthcare  workers  who  refuse  a  vaccine  are 
“ineligible.”    N.  Y.  State  Dept.  of  Labor,  Unemploy-
ment  Insurance  Top  Frequently  Asked  Questions  (Sept.
25,  2021),  https://dol.ny.gov/unemployment-insurance-top-
frequently-asked-questions. 

C 

Facing the imminent loss of their jobs and unemployment 
benefits, the doctors and nurses before us filed two separate
lawsuits seeking a preliminary injunction preventing New
York from enforcing its new mandate against them.  In the 
first suit, District Judge David Hurd granted the requested
relief after concluding that New York’s “intentional change 
in language is the kind of religious gerrymander” that vio-
lates  the  First  Amendment.    Dr.  A.  v.  Hochul,  2021  WL 
4734404,  *8  (NDNY,  Oct.  12,  2021)  (internal  quotation 
marks  omitted).  In  the  second  suit,  the  District  Court 
reached a contrary conclusion and denied relief without an
opinion.  We The Patriots USA, Inc. v. Hochul, No. 21–cv– 
4954  (EDNY,  Sept.  12,  2021),  App.  to  Application  for  In-
junctive Relief in No. 21A125, p. 6.  Ultimately, the Second
Circuit issued a combined judgment rejecting all of the ap-
plicants’  claims  and  dissolving  the  preliminary  injunction 
issued in Dr. A.  See We The Patriots USA, Inc. v. Hochul, 
17 F. 4th 368 (CA2 2021) (per curiam). 

II 

We assess requests for temporary injunctive relief under 
a familiar standard that focuses, among other things, on the 
merits of the applicants’ underlying claims and the harms