In the start of 2023, Justin Murphy secured a favorable decision for a client who was terminated from a Boston based hospital due to the mandatory Covid-19 vaccine requirement, which the client refused for religious reasons. The Department of Unemployment Assistance (“DUA”) initially denied the claim, stating that the employee's refusal was a willful violation of company policy under the MA unemployment statute.
Mr. Murphy represented the employee at the unemployment hearing. During the hearing, the hospital contended that the employee intentionally refused the vaccine and should be disqualified. Mr. Murphy argued the refusal was not willful or intentional, but rather the employee requested a religious exemption, which the hospital denied. Consequently, the DUA rejected the hospital’s argument that the employee’s actions were willful or deliberate misconduct.
The hospital erroneously believed it was immune from all unemployment claims related to an employee's refusal to get the Covid-19 vaccine, but in Massachusetts, the unemployment statute provides benefits to individuals who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own in certain circumstances, such as in this case.
