Briefs Urge U.S. Supreme Court to Take W

News Release
For Immediate Release: 5.27.26
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453

Briefs Urge U.S. Supreme Court to Take Washington Firefighters’ Religious Liberty Rights Case
Groups including victims of discrimination, religious organizations urge Justices to reject Ninth Circuit gutting of religious employee rights. 

Washington, D.C.–Twenty-two states, several religious organizations, including the American Hindu Jewish Congress, and victims of religious discrimination are among twelve “friend-of-the-court” briefs urging the Supreme Court of the United States to reverse a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that upheld the Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue (“SRFR”) department’s decision to refuse religious accommodation for eight firefighters known as the Snohomish Eight. SRFR claimed that providing a COVID-19 vaccine accommodation would have imposed an undue hardship on the fire station, so they placed the firefighters on indefinite leave.

“We are grateful for the outpouring of support for our clients,” said Senior Counsel for First Liberty Institute, Stephanie Taub. “We are hopeful the Supreme Court will take this case and protect the right of every American to live out their faith in the workplace without fear of reprisal.”

Eight firefighters working at Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue requested a religious accommodation from the COVID-19 vaccination mandate due to their sincere religious beliefs. SRFR rejected their request, however, claiming health and safety risks caused a reasonable fear of undue hardship. Even though the firefighters submitted to various risk mitigation measures including masking, testing, and social distancing, all eight men were left unaccommodated, placed on unpaid leave, and forced to find other jobs with neighboring fire departments in and out of Snohomish County. None of these other fire stations had a problem accommodating the men. Moreover, vaccinated SRFR firefighters continued to engage in mutual-aid scenarios where they worked shoulder to shoulder with unvaccinated responders from the accommodating departments, proving SRFR’s “health concerns” reasoning dubious.

The petition gives the Supreme Court the opportunity to clarify that an employer must accommodate religious beliefs unless the employer can show actual undue hardship, not just a “reasonable” concern of undue hardship.

The firefighters are represented by First Liberty Institute, Williams & Connolly, Church State Council, and Jennifer W. Kennedy.

Links to all the briefs are available here.

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About First Liberty Institute

First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.

To arrange an interview, contact John Manning at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453.