Massachusetts
Massachusetts hospital employee who was fired after not getting COVID vaccine scores win in appeals court
![Massachusetts hospital employee who was fired after not getting COVID vaccine scores win in appeals court Massachusetts hospital employee who was fired after not getting COVID vaccine scores win in appeals court](https://www.bostonherald.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/2018/04/08/040818BethIsraelnc4.jpg?w=1024&h=670)
A Beth Israel employee who was fired after she refused to get the COVID vaccine has scored a win in federal appeals court.
Amanda Bazinet, who worked as an executive office manager at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Milton, sued the hospital when she was terminated over the vaccine mandate.
She had tried to get a religious accommodation for the COVID vaccine in 2021, which the hospital rejected and then sent her packing.
When Bazinet sued Beth Israel over religious discrimination, the federal district court dismissed the case. But now, the federal appeals court has tossed the district court’s ruling.
“Whether Bazinet’s religious discrimination claims will succeed or even survive summary judgment is uncertain. But these claims should have advanced…” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit wrote in its ruling on Tuesday.
“Accordingly, we vacate the district court’s order dismissing Bazinet’s religious discrimination claims and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion,” the appeals court added.
The hospital’s mandatory vaccine policy had exemptions, including for medical and religious reasons.
When the lower district court dismissed the religious discrimination claims, the judge said Bazinet failed to allege that she maintained a “sincerely held religious belief” that prevented her from taking the COVID vaccine.
Also, the judge ruled that the hospital would “suffer an undue hardship” by granting Bazinet’s request for an accommodation from the vaccine requirement.
“The complaint sufficiently alleged that taking the vaccine would violate Bazinet’s religious beliefs,” the appeals court wrote on Tuesday. “Moreover, determining whether an undue hardship would result from the Hospital excusing Bazinet from the vaccine requirement cannot be accomplished at this preliminary stage of the litigation.”
In her religious accommodation request, Bazinet noted her understanding that the available COVID vaccines were developed using fetal cell lines that originated from aborted fetuses. She also explained that taking the vaccine would make her complicit in the performance of abortions which would be “an aberration to (her) Christian faith.”
Bazinet provided quotations from religious sources that she said supports her view.
“Accepting those allegations as true for present purposes, she has sufficiently pleaded a religious belief that conflicts with receiving the COVID-19 vaccine as required by the Policy,” the appeals court wrote.
“Bazinet… grounded her objection to taking the vaccine in a religious belief connecting the COVID-19 vaccine to opposition to abortion,” the court later added. “Whether few or many share that religious view is irrelevant. For similar reasons, it is also irrelevant at this stage of the litigation that the Hospital tells us that Bazinet is mistaken in believing that the COVID-19 vaccines were developed from fetal tissue obtained from aborted fetuses. That the Hospital disputes Bazinet’s factual foundation for her belief about the development of the vaccines does not change the religious character of the belief.”
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Massachusetts
Tim Walz cashes in at Boston fundraiser. Why this still matters in blue Massachusetts
![Tim Walz cashes in at Boston fundraiser. Why this still matters in blue Massachusetts Tim Walz cashes in at Boston fundraiser. Why this still matters in blue Massachusetts](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/08/15/6e00cd0c-4698-474f-8584-4b30e6e81736/thumbnail/1200x630/e02328e378c3e38fc3564110fb48a009/walz-in-boston-pkg-11p-1.jpg?v=d8f7565ef3e8b72561ee316b5993cbf9)
BOSTON – For the first time, Tim Walz marches alone. The vice presidential nominee stepped into the Newbury Hotel without Vice President Kamala Harris to speak at a fundraiser for their campaign.
Big money at Boston fundraiser
According to an RSVP page, it was $25,000 just to get in the door. The suggested donation was $100,000. Those figures highlight why Democratic candidates still show up to a state that already leans blue.
“The state’s primary importance in these campaigns is the do-re-mi. We have a long standing nickname as America’s leading political ATM,” said WBZ-TV political analyst Jon Keller.
He says it’s not uncommon for candidates to plan events in Massachusetts as a way to connect with swing state voters in New Hampshire. Keller said former President Donald Trump used the tactic during his run in 2016.
“Because southern New Hampshire is in the Boston media market, people up there will see information or news about Walz’s visit,” explained Keller.
The Minnesota governor is known for his down-to-earth style. The former teacher and football coach is now rubbing elbows in Boston’s high fashion district.
“It’ll be interesting to see how he interacts with this high roller crowd,” said Keller.
Grit and toughness
“He was coaching the defense. It says something about his grit, his toughness and all the while doing so with a huge smile on his face,” said Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey.
Healey made an appearance at the event, along with Sen. Ed Markey. Healey called Walz a friend, and someone she can relate to as a former college athlete.
“Forget the party of any of those kids who played for him. They may be Democrat, they may be Republican, they may be whatever. I can guarantee you they’re all going to bat for Tim Walz. He’s the kind of guy you wanted to play for,” said Governor Healey.
After Boston, Walz will be heading to Newport, Rhode Island for another speaking engagement before traveling to the Hamptons in New York.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts police officer hit by SUV and more top stories
![Massachusetts police officer hit by SUV and more top stories Massachusetts police officer hit by SUV and more top stories](https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/08/14/406a39ed-5aef-4c10-93d8-298f1eea13d5/thumbnail/1200x630/9879eb44f3a0a737376c66d3504801b1/b389d3dc5478074817f1c5edb4b431e3.jpg?v=d8f7565ef3e8b72561ee316b5993cbf9)
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Massachusetts
Dozens of people rush to escape fire tearing through Massachusetts apartment building
![Dozens of people rush to escape fire tearing through Massachusetts apartment building Dozens of people rush to escape fire tearing through Massachusetts apartment building](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/08/14/bc1ffc86-9955-4cdd-8968-aff3c6872e1f/thumbnail/1200x630/3517f309d9fd1be2e58f9932ebe27f99/25dc981122d05d0879bceb1fd81d8070.jpg?v=ca135fae0838bc5b23b70dacd2a620f1)
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Twisters movie review: no winds of change blowing here – FlickFilosopher.com
-
News1 week ago
The ‘Blue Walz’: How a low-key Midwestern governor shot to the top to be Harris’ VP pick | CNN Politics
-
News1 week ago
Kamala Harris holding rally in Pennsylvania to introduce running mate after securing Democratic nomination
-
World1 week ago
Venezuela launches probe against opposition leaders Gonzalez, Machado
-
Politics1 week ago
Harris VP search comes down to the wire, with Dems divided over Shapiro, Walz, Kelly
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Minmini Movie Review: A soothing and understated film with characters to root for
-
World1 week ago
EU Commissioner and RAI top management: A sticky August for Meloni
-
World1 week ago
The day after in Dhaka