Federal Agency Urges Court to Rule for Mayo Clinic Workers Fired for Refusing COVID Vaccines

A U.S judge erred in ruling against Christians, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said.

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., on Sept. 29, 2020. Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

Workers fired by the Mayo Clinic for refusing COVID-19 vaccines were wrongly turned down by a federal court, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said in a new filing.

Nurse Shelly Kiel and paramedic Kenneth Ringhofer plausibly made their cases that they held a religious belief that requires accommodation under federal law, the EEOC said in an Oct. 31 amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.