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Appeals court reinstates religious-freedom lawsuit against Milton Hospital by office manager fired for refusing Covid-19 shots

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday a lower-court judge was too hasty in dismissing a lawsuit by a Milton Hospital employee who believes current Covid-19 vaccines are made from aborted fetuses and reinstated her claim against the hospital for firing her in 2022 for refusing to get vaccinated or provide her with alternative working conditions to shield her from the public and other hospital workers.

The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston emphasized this does not mean it necessarily buys Amanda Bazinet's argument that she adequately proved to the hospital that she had a legitimate religious reason for avoiding shots in the middle of a global pandemic or that the hospital failed to show that complying with her request would subject it to "undue hardship" - considerable harm or expense.

In its ruling, the three-judge panel concluded that Bazinet deserved more time to make her case - through "discovery" or in-depth pre-trial questioning of hospital officials and examination of documents related to the case on just why they rejected her 2021 request for an exemption.

They concluded that US District Court Judge Angel Kelley shouldn't have summarily dismissed her First Amendment claim when the hospital itself had not initially provided a detailed motion to do so and ordered her to resume the case at least until after the point both sides have provided more evidence and arguments for their cases - after which she could then rule on whether to dismiss the case again.

Whether Bazinet's religious discrimination claims will succeed or even survive summary judgment is uncertain. But these claims should have advanced past [the judge's decision to dismiss based on undue hardship].

The court also contrasted Bazinet's case with a similar one by healthcare workers in Maine, whose case was ultimately dismissed, in part because Maine state law, unlike Massachusetts law, did not allow for religious exemptions.

Bazinet initially sued the hospital on a total of five counts, including an allegation that the vaccine requirement was a form of assault and that the hospital was operating at the behest of the government to force vaccines that don't work into the arms of its employees. In December, Kelley initially dismissed all but the religious-freedom argument. In her appeal, Bazinet did not contest the dismissal of her other four arguments.

Bazinet is represented by Richard Chambers of Lynnfield, who has brought a number of Covid-19-related lawsuits, including a failed suit by a number of of anti-vaxxers in their failed suit against Boston over its three-month requirement to show proof of vaccination for admission to many indoor venue as well as a failed suit by four North End restaurant owners who charged Mayor Wu enacted fees for outdoor patios in the North End - an outgrowth of pandemic-related outdoor dining - because she hated white Italian men.

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Comments

...and charge her court costs when her "argument" turns out to be specious bullshit inspired by the privileged position that religious fanatics hold in this society.

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Voting closed 45

WTF; If you believe in alternative facts you can be given alternative working conditions? Just because you believe something doesn't make it true! What was that judicial panel thinking?

Richard Chambers of Lynnfield is making bank on alternative facts. He gets paid regardless, even when he loses a case. Nice grift if you can pull it off.

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Voting closed 12

In a motion to dismiss, the court is supposed to take all of the plaintiff's allegations as if they were proven facts, with some exceptions like judicial notice of accepted facts refuting the plaintiff, eg like the world is not flat.

You only dismiss if there is no case made out from those facts as a matter of law. Unfortunately, judges are under pressure to clear their dockets and thus shade the rules in many cases.

It does not mean the case is won, just means the plaintiff can produce evidence and get evidence from the defendant to make their case.

Freedom is messy. It's a good thing that leeway is allowed for complainants,

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Voting closed 11

We're still here having these cases because these fools want to believe crap on conservative media. This has zero to do with religion.

Sorry not sorry. If you don't like the rules of your job that help keep patients safe, you can go find another job.

We gotta stop these "religious exemption" because people are using it as a get out of jail free card. I think if we're going to go down this road, then your 'religion' must be well documented and not "well its what I think" or at least a deep investigation into whether you are really religious or not. I guarantee that a good chunk of these people are not and are using it as a crutch.

Yup its a slippery slope but so is allowing people to use this excuse just to be a jackass. Something has to give.

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Voting closed 13

It's got plenty to do with religion. Puh-lenty.

Obsequious deference to religion is baked into both culture and laws in this country. There is plenty of blame to go around, including to politicians who pandered to religion by passing deceptively titled "religious freedom" legislation (that does not confer "freedom", which all religions already have, but instead relieves anyone claiming "religious belief" as their reason of any responsibility to obey laws or behave like decent human beings). But it all originates in the pulpit. Churches have an absurdly privileged position in American society, and only churches can stop it.

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Voting closed 8

for those who bitch about religious freedom. It's better that people fear God and behave accordingly than be unbridled by anything but fear of the police. Because then the police become scarier, even a terrorist force in some places (not Boston, BPD is ok) in the USA last 50 years

Because we have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition, Revenge would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net.

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other

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Voting closed 12