(Reuters) - A bankruptcy judge who fired an employee who was denied a religious exemption from a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement did not engage in discrimination or an abuse of power, a federal appeals court judge ruled.
Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Michael Chagares in a newly released opinion dismissed a complaint the ex-employee filed with the Judicial Council of the 3rd Circuit in a rare judicial misconduct case over a federal court employee vaccine requirement.
The decision is dated Feb. 22 but was only released this week. As is typical with cases filed under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, the ruling did not identify the complainant, judge or even court to which it pertains.
The federal district and bankruptcy courts in Delaware and New Jersey, which are both in the 3rd Circuit, are among those within the broader federal judiciary that have mandated court staff get vaccinated.
The ex-employee accused the unnamed bankruptcy judge of discriminating against her based on her religious beliefs by terminating her after her application for a religious exemption from a court vaccine policy was denied.
She alleged her religious beliefs prevented her from getting vaccinated and that she had "natural immunity" to the coronavirus. She argued her beliefs could be accommodated and that she should be entitled to be reinstated.
But in a seven-page decision, Chagares said the ex-employee was essentially seeking to collaterally attack the judge's decisions to terminate...
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