Federal court rejects Snohomish firefighters’ COVID-19 vaccine exemption appeal

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a ruling in favor of Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue (SRFR) on Tuesday, after eight employees sued for being denied COVID-19 vaccine religious exemptions in 2021, according to court documents.

The court confirmed a lower court’s ruling that SRFR could not provide religious exemptions to eight firefighters without causing undue hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal court rules against Snohomish firefighters’ COVID-19 lawsuit

In August 2021, former Washington Governor Jay Inslee issued a proclamation that required all healthcare providers to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. SRFR issued a vaccine mandate for its firefighters in response to Inslee’s proclamation. However, SRFR did allow workers to request accommodations based on religious beliefs.

Following the 2021 mandate, 46 of SRFR’s 192 firefighters requested COVID-19 vaccine exemptions. The eight firefighters who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit were denied their religious exemption requests because “it was unable to identify a reasonable accommodation that would allow firefighters to remain in their roles without imposing an undue hardship on SRFR.”

The ruling noted SRFR proved it faced substantial costs if it accommodated firefighters’ religious vaccine exemptions. The health and safety of the public and its own firefighters, the large number of firefighters seeking accommodations, operational risks, and costs of widespread absences further contributed to the Ninth Circuit’s undue hardship ruling.

The firefighters’ union and SRFR came to an agreement, which allowed workers to use accrued paid leave, use up to one year of paid leave, and be listed on a priority rehire list.

Ultimately, the eight firefighters filed a lawsuit that argued the unpaid leave provided by SRFR was not a lawful accommodation. The federal appeals court of the Ninth Circuit ruled that SRFR’s accommodation was justified, and other arrangements would have provided undue hardship on its operations.

SRFR covers approximately 135 square miles of territory and serves roughly 175,000 people, including 2,500 prisoners at the Monroe Correctional Complex. The ruling noted that in 2021, SRFR responded to 18,000 emergencies, 85% of which required emergency medical services.

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