Former nursing home employee has reopened lawsuit against COVID-19 vaccination

A Denver court has ruled that a nursing home worker can reopen her lawsuit against a facility in Aurora, Colorado, three years after she was fired for what she said was religious discrimination and more than a year after the court dismissed her original petition .

According to court documents, in October 2021, Cherry Creek Nursing Center fired Diann R. Bolonchuk, an 18-year employee and evangelical Christian, after she requested religious accommodations on the grounds that ingredients in the COVID-19 vaccine – fetal cells – violated her beliefs .

On November 26, in a 3-0 decision, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court reversed part of their motion that had been dismissed in April 2023.

“We affirm the dismissal of the First Amendment complaint, but reverse the dismissal of the Title VII complaint and remand for further proceedings,” wrote District Judge Joel M. Carson III.

Legal experts say the ruling does not provide any concrete outcome. However, it should provide clarity to certain operators who are unsure how or whether such matters may potentially impact them.

“Nursing home providers should adopt the view that a private company is not a government actor simply because it is acting under government supervision in maintaining the dismissal of the First Amendment lawsuit,” said attorney Craig Conley McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. “The same is true with respect to the Court’s opinion that Title VII does not make the First Amendment directly applicable to a private actor. This should provide some comfort to providers regarding potential constitutional claims.”

The uncertainty among providers is understandable for many. In recent years, some nursing homes have been hit by lawsuits from employees who opposed COVID vaccination mandates that they said overturned their religious beliefs.

In August 2021, the Liberty Council, a national faith-based organization, filed a lawsuit on behalf of nine healthcare workers against long-term care companies, the governor of Maine and others, challenging the state’s mandate that all healthcare workers be vaccinated.

And in December 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that New York could continue its COVID vaccination requirement for nursing home staff and other health care workers, but religious exemptions were possible.

According to the ruling, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, on which Bolonchuk based part of her lawsuit, it is unlawful for an employer to fire an employee or otherwise discriminate against an employee with respect to his or her compensation, terms and conditions, or employment privileges. . . According to Colorado Politics, at the time of her original request, Bolonchuk was seeking $815,575 in damages.