Emergency Legal Preparedness and Response
During disease outbreaks or natural disasters, jurisdictions may take divergent legal approaches in their responses to national or regional public health threats. Legal authorities vary across states, tribal governments and localities during declared emergencies. Conflicting laws and overlapping jurisdictions further complicate key decisions on when or how to respond.
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Resources
Overview of COVID-19 Emergency Declarations
COVID-19 Real-Time Legal Responses: Local Governments on the Frontlines
U.S. Legal Preparedness and Real-time Responses: COVID-19
2019 Novel Coronavirus: Legal Preparedness and Public Health Response Efforts
Legal Emergency Preparedness Resources
Opioid-related Public Health Emergency Declarations
Emergency Legal Preparedness Concerning Ebola
Measles Outbreak: Public Health Authority, New York City’s Immunization Mandate, and the Current Legislative Landscape
Public Health Decision-Making Tool
Preventing Communicable Disease through Vaccination Laws
Learning from the Flint Water Crisis – Protecting the Public’s Health During a Financial Emergency
Public Health Handbook for Communities Under Emergency Management – A Case Study of the Flint Water Crisis
Spotlight
Why Proposed Legislation to End Judicial Deference to Executive Agencies Matters for Public Health
Emerging Laws and Policies for Improved Climate Resilience and Increased Health Equity
What is the Nondelegation Doctrine and Why Does it Matter to Public Health?
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A Closer Look at Emergency Legal Preparedness and Response
Public health officials may face many critical legal and policy decisions during public health emergencies, including:
- Inter-jurisdictional legal coordination of federal, tribal, state and local actors in real-time emergencies under changing legal norms
- The ability to issue isolation or quarantine orders, or other social distancing methods, to control public health threats
- Whether to close or dismiss schools, or other public assemblies, temporarily or for prolonged periods to prevent the spread of communicable diseases
- The authority to mandate vaccinations for minors or autonomous adults, including health care workers
- Licensing, credentialing and privileging out-of-state health practitioners
- Inter-jurisdictional management of scarce resources including personnel, vaccines, shelter and sustenance
- Omnipresent concerns over liability of public health practitioners during emergencies
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