Maine Health Care Workers Appeal Case Dismissal

Jul 23, 2024

Liberty Counsel filed its Opening Brief of an appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of seven Maine health care workers. U.S. District Court Judge Jon Levy dismissed their religious accommodation case as moot due to the state having rescinded its COVID-19 mandate. The health care workers were fired during the state’s unconstitutional mandate after being unlawfully denied religious accommodations and for refusing the experimental shot due to their religious beliefs. 

Judge Levy’s original dismissal of the complaint was reversed by the Court of Appeals 3-0. The Court of Appeals sent the case back to the District Court to proceed with discovery. Maine then rescinded the COVID shot mandate but did not repeal the state law.

In Alicia Lowe, et al., v. Janet Mills, Liberty Counsel argues the case is not moot and should return to the lower court for discovery because there is no guarantee from the state a similar mandate will not occur in the future. Liberty Counsel seeks a permanent injunction against any future unconstitutional state mandate or law that prohibits religious accommodations for compulsory immunizations.

Liberty Counsel represents the health care workers against Governor Janet Mills, Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services Jeanne M. Lambrew, and Director of Center for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Puthiery Va.

Governor Janet Mills previously argued the case should be dismissed as moot because the state no longer mandates the COVID-19 shot for health care employees. However, Gov. Mills has already caused illegal harm to the health care workers by unlawfully prohibiting the state’s hospitals from granting their religious exemptions from the COVID-19 shots. Governor Mills also threatened to revoke the licenses of all health care employers who failed to mandate the experimental injection to their employees. As a result, these health care workers were terminated from their positions. 

In addition, the law with no provision for religious exemptions remains in effect preventing the state from guaranteeing this will not happen again in the future.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Summarily dismissing employees who have sincerely held religious objections to experimental COVID shots violates federal law. Maine’s mandates caused irreparable harm by forcing people to choose between their faith and their livelihood, and there needs to be a permanent injunction in place to prevent this from happening again in Maine.”


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