Where a plaintiff school employee who was terminated for non-compliance with the defendant employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy has claimed a violation of her First Amendment right to free exercise of religion, that claim should not be dismissed, as sufficient facts exist in the complaint to reasonably infer that the vaccination policy was not the least restrictive means possible to achieve the stated compelling interest of protecting the health and safety of teachers, staff, students and the general public.
“Sydni O’Connell (‘O’Connell’), formerly Sydni Salvatore, brings this action against Newton Public Schools (‘NPS’). O’Connell alleges that NPS wrongfully terminated her for non-compliance with its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy (‘Vaccination Policy’), constituting religious discrimination and a violation of her First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. … O’Connell brings religious discrimination claims under both federal and state law, while she brings her First Amendment claim under 42 U.S.C. §1983. …
“In September 2021, NPS, where O’Connell was working as a school psychologist, instituted a Vaccination Policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. …
“In its Motion to Dismiss, NPS argues that the religious discrimination claims should be dismissed because O’Connell failed to exhaust her administrative remedies under Title VII and Chapter 151B, as required prior to filing a suit in either state or federal court. …
“In this case, O’Connell...
PORTLAND, Maine (WGME) -- A week after employees at the Holy Donut on Park Avenue in Portland told the company they were looking to unionize, the company now says those workers made false accusati...