Steamship employees again denied vaccine relief – Martha’s Vineyard Times

A United States District Court judge has again denied relief to a collection of Steamship Authority employees that had tried to gain an exemption to ferry lines COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Eleven plaintiffs were seeking a preliminary injunctive but Judge Richard G. Stearns with the federal district court in Massachusetts denied the motion on Dec. 11, arguing that the Steamship was trying to protect the general public by ordering compliance with its mandate.

Its the judges second time ruling against the 11 employees.

The group of employees first filed a 129-page lawsuit in Barnstable County Superior Court in February 2022, alleging the Steamship was infringing on their First Amendment rights. The case quickly moved to the U.S. District Court. Judge Stearns denied the workers request in March 2022, which was appealed.

In October, a panel of three appellate judges ruled that the lower court partially erred when rejecting the Steamship Authority [SSA] workers claims that their rights were infringed upon; and the judges sent the case back to Stearns.

In last weeks ruling, Stearns laid out several reasons for denying the injunction. The employees had argued that the Steamship granted an exemption to the vaccine to one employee for health reasons; their rights were infringed on when they were not granted a religious exemption. But the judge writes in his filing that the Steamships efforts to protect the public were justified.

Granting eleven indefinite religious exemptions creates a substantially higher risk of infection and transmission than granting one time-limited medical exemption, he writes.

The judge also argues that the Steamship tried other measures to stop the spread of the virus, like extensive cleaning, social distancing, and daily health screenings. But, the judge writes, COVID-19 outbreaks on the Authoritys vessels continued to Occur.

In previous comments to The Times, the plaintiffs attorney, Patrick K. Daubert said they are seeking reinstatement for the workers who were terminated for standing by their religious convictions in declining the vaccines.

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Steamship employees again denied vaccine relief - Martha's Vineyard Times