Fallon Community Health Plan, Inc. v. Acting Director of the Department of Unemployment Assistance

Summary

The court affirmed the decision awarding unemployment benefits to a home health aide discharged after declining a COVID-19 vaccination because of sincere religious beliefs. It held that the employee's good-faith effort to obtain an exemption was not deliberate misconduct in willful disregard of the employer's interests, and that her noncompliance was not a knowing violation warranting disqualification because her religious beliefs materially mitigated her state of mind. The court also held that the employer's vaccination policy was reasonable and uniformly enforced, contrary to the District Court's reasoning.