It’s a victory for Christian employees.
A federal appeals court has ruled that the city of San Francisco must reinstate employees who were terminated for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, overturning a lower court decision. The unanimous ruling, issued on Thursday by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, ordered the city to rehire workers who were dismissed due to their non-compliance with the city’s vaccine mandate. The case involved Selina Keene and Melody Fountila, who objected to the vaccine on religious grounds, though over 100 other plaintiffs were also involved.
The court’s opinion referenced the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case, Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo, which ruled that religious freedoms cannot be infringed, even for short periods, without causing irreparable harm. The court found that San Francisco’s refusal to accommodate the employees’ religious beliefs violated their rights, noting that being forced to choose between their faith and their livelihood caused emotional distress that could not be fully undone.
The panel emphasized that the plaintiffs’ terminations represented significant harm and described the city’s actions as a “dignitary affront.” The court further noted that since the city’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement is no longer in effect, there is no ongoing burden on the city for non-compliance, thus ordering the lower court to provide the necessary relief.
This decision is part of a broader context of legal challenges surrounding COVID-19 vaccine mandates, with many individuals raising objections based on religious or ethical grounds, such as concerns over the involvement of fetal cell lines in vaccine development. In a related move, last week, former President Donald Trump issued an executive order for the reinstatement of U.S. military personnel who were discharged for refusing the vaccine.