National religious organization Liberty Council has filed a lawsuit on behalf of nine “Jane Doe” healthcare workers against long-term care organizations, Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and other defendants, challenging on religious grounds the state’s mandate requiring all healthcare workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
The civil suit names Genesis Healthcare, Genesis Healthcare of Maine, MaineHealth, MaineGeneral Health and the Northern Light Health Foundation — all of which count assisted living, memory care and/or skilled nursing among their offerings — as well as Mills, Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew and Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah, M.D., MPH, according to records filed in the federal court in Bangor last week.
Liberty said Wednesday that it is representing more than 2,000 healthcare workers statewide in fighting the requirement that they get the COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 1 or lose their jobs. The governor’s order covers workers at residential care facilities, nursing facilities, home health agencies and other healthcare settings. The measure provides for medical exemptions, but not religious ones, according to Liberty. The religious organization argues the lack of such an exemption violates federal law.
Liberty gave an example of the case of a nurse at Northern Light Health Foundation whose religious exemption request was denied. “This employer, like the other defendants, at the direction of Gov. Mills, is operating as though the federal employment law, Title VII, does not exist,” the religious organization alleged Wednesday.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said the state will “vigorously defend” the mandate against the lawsuit. “We are confident that it will be upheld,” he said, adding that the requirement “is based on a determination by public health experts that it is necessary to limit the spread of COVID-19 in healthcare facilities and to protect Maine’s healthcare system.”
Federal Judge Jon D. Levy is expediting the case and has set a status conference for Tuesday. The challenge comes at a time when recent research by Cleveland-based human capital management software company OnShift indicates a potential mass employee departure from nursing homes. According to the survey, 92% of unvaccinated respondents either plan to seek employment where vaccines are not mandated (53%) or are unsure of their future employment status (39%).
