Case updates this week:

Friday March 22nd: The federal district court for the Western District of Washington dismissed all federal law claims in White v. University of Washington. The plaintiff, White, a sonographer with a University of Washington clinic, was fired after the University denied her request for a religious exemption to its COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The plaintiff argued that the mandate forced her to either violate her sincerely held religious beliefs by receiving the COVID-19 vaccine or lose her job in violation of the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause. Plaintiff also alleged that the defendants violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses, Title VII, as well as various state law claims. The court acknowledged that the defendant, state agencies, had waived their qualified immunity by removing the case to federal court, but were nevertheless not subject to liability because states and state agencies acting in their official capacities are not persons under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In addition, state officials could not be held liable in their individual capacities because the plaintiff had not shown any violation of a constitutionally protected right. The Title VII claim was dismissed because the defendants had adequately shown undue hardship caused by allowing the plaintiff a religious exemption because of the risk of COVID-19 spread with the plaintiff in a patient-facing role. With no remaining federal claims, the court remanded plaintiff’s state law claims to a Washington state court.

Monday March 25th: The federal district court for the District of Minnesota granted summary judgment to all defendants in McNeally v. HomeTown Bank. The plaintiff, McNeally, alleged HomeTown Bank terminated her employment in violation of her First Amendment right to Free Speech because of her opinions and speech against mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. McNeally sued not only the bank but also the public school in which the HomeTown branch she worked in was located, along with various school administrators. However, the court held that only her direct employer, HomeTown, was responsible for her termination. As a private actor, HomeTown could not be liable for § 1983 constitutional violations.

Monday March 25th: In Royce v. Bonta the federal district court for the Southern District of California dismissed a challenge to California’s vaccine mandate for children enrolled in public or private schools. The plaintiffs, four mothers of school-aged children, alleged that the state violated their First Amendment Free Exercise rights because they were forced to decide between vaccinating their children, opposed by their religious beliefs, or deprive them of the benefits of a public education. The plaintiffs argued that the law was not generally applicable because secular, but not religious, exceptions are allowed. However, the court rejected this argument, holding that exemptions for medical reasons are not the kind of individualized exemptions that are suspect under Fulton v. Philadelphia. Rather, they were instead required when ordered by a doctor.