U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy last week permanently blocked a section of law the state said was meant to prevent employers — including many health care facilities — from discriminating against workers by requiring them to be vaccinated against communicable diseases, including COVID-19.The Montana Legislature passed the first-in-the-nation law in 2021, about a year into the pandemic as some people, businesses and Republican lawmakers were pushing back on health care measures enacted to prevent the spread of the virus that has now killed more than 1 million people in the United States.Republican lawmakers who supported the bill said it was needed in response to employers threatening to fire workers who would not get vaccinated.The plaintiffs successfully argued that the law violates the Americans With Disabilities Act, which requires public facilities to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities.The law also violated the federal Occupational Health and Safety Act by failing to keep the workplace free from recognized hazards, he said."