July 30, 2021
3rd Lawsuit Filed Challenging
Federal Transportation Mask Mandate
Chicago Rideshare Driver Argues Requirement to Refuse
Maskless Passengers Violates His First Amendment Rights
July 1, 2021
By LUCAS WALL
CHICAGO – A rideshare driver not willing to leave customers on the side of the road for not wearing a mask filed a federal lawsuit June 28 against the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and the Illinois Department of Public Health requesting a federal judge strike down the Federal Transportation Mask Mandate.
Justin Mahwikizi, 36, of Homewood, Illinois, alleges the mask mandate violates his freedom of religion by forcing him to violate his faith in the Good Samaritan Principle, which requires helping those in need. The FTMM forces Mahwikizi to refuse service to riders who can’t or won’t cover their face – or even those who simply forgot to bring a mask since they are no longer required in Illinois for the fully vaccinated.
The civil complaint in Mahwikizi v. CDC was filed in the U.S. District for the Northern District of Illinois. Mahwikizi is asking the court to declare the FTMM unconstitutional. This is the third lawsuit known to be filed in federal courts across the nation attacking the FTMM as unlawful and contrary to the Constitution. The others are Wall v. CDC in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando and Corbett v. TSA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Mahwikizi asserts the federal and state governments have forced him to leave a mother with her children on the streets of Chicago because the young kids won’t wear a mask, among other incidents. The FTMM requires rideshare drivers to refuse service to anyone not donning a face covering.
“Immediate and irreparable harm is being suffered by Mahwikizi every day which passes wherein he is being ordered by Federal and State Defendants to force Mahwikizi’s transportation clients to put masks on, request they leave his car if they have no mask, or simply leave Illinois residents on the side of the road if they or someone with them do not have a face covering on for any reason,” he contends in an Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order & Preliminary Injunction filed June 30.
“Doing away with the FTMM would align with current Illinois and CDC policies that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear a mask,” Mahwikizi said.
“People who are fully vaccinated are not required to wear a face covering under state guidance,” according to the Illinois Phase 5 Guidance for Businesses and Venues https://bit.ly/ILPH5G. “For businesses and venues where everyone present is fully vaccinated, the state does not require coverings and social distancing in both indoor and outdoor settings.”
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[…] the second against the FTMM filed by workers in the transportation sector (a Chicago Uber driver sued to end the mask mandate last year) and the first by airline […]