By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from eight firefighters who sued Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue after being placed on leave for refusing Washington’s 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate on religious grounds.
- The denial leaves in place a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the agency could not have reasonably accommodated the unvaccinated firefighters without undue hardship.
- The firefighters, who called themselves the “Snohomish Eight,” filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in 2022 seeking backpay and unspecified damages.
- Then-Gov. Jay Inslee’s 2021 order required the state’s firefighters, health care workers, state employees and education workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by October of that year.
- First Liberty Institute, which represented the firefighters, said it remains committed to pursuing religious-freedom cases despite the setback.
SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from eight firefighters who sued Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue after they were placed on leave for refusing Washington’s 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate on religious grounds, according to the Seattle Times.
With the high court declining review, a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling remains in effect finding the Snohomish County fire agency was within its rights to deny accommodation requests that would have let the unvaccinated firefighters remain in their roles. Attorneys for the firefighters had petitioned the Supreme Court in April to reverse that decision.
“We are certainly disappointed in the outcome, but we are still going to be here to continue fighting for religious freedom,” said Cliff Martin, senior counsel for First Liberty Institute, which represented the firefighters.
Under then-Gov. Jay Inslee’s vaccine order, the state’s firefighters, health care workers, state employees and education workers were required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 2021. Court documents show the Snohomish firefighters were permitted to request accommodations based on sincerely held religious beliefs, but the fire agency said it could not grant the exemptions without imposing an undue hardship, citing the potential health and safety risks of unvaccinated first responders working with vulnerable patients.
The firefighters, who adopted the nickname “Snohomish Eight,” filed suit in 2022 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleging the denial of their accommodation requests violated federal and state employment discrimination laws and seeking backpay for their period of unpaid leave along with unspecified damages. A district court ruled in favor of the fire agency, a decision the 9th Circuit appeals panel upheld, finding the department could not have reasonably accommodated the firefighters without undue hardship.