Federal judge again blocks effort by 11 Steamship Authority workers for vaccine exemption

A federal district court judge has blocked another effort by 11 employees of the Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority to be exempt from the agency’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

In response, an attorney for the employees said they are "actively looking into filing yet another appeal." "We are displeased with the District Court’s decision," attorney Patrick Daubert said in an email.

The Steamship Authority operates ferry service from Cape Cod to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard for passengers as well as vehicles — from cars to large freight-carrying trucks. The Massachusetts Legislature created the Steamship Authority in 1960 to provide for “adequate transportation of persons and necessaries of life for the Islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.”

Passenger ridership was around 2.9 million in 2022, according to a agency's latest annual report.

The agency employs about 750 annually, according to the website.

What was the judge's decision?

The plaintiffs, seeking a preliminary injunction, cited First Amendment and religious reasons for the exemption. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns ruled the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate how the policy violated their constitutional rights.

The Steamship Authority's vaccination policy easily satisfies rational basis review, meaning that plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed on the merits, Stearns wrote in his Dec. 11 ruling.

“Limiting COVID-19 infection and transmission is of course a legitimate governmental interest," he wrote.

Requiring all employees to be vaccinated, subject to limited exemptions, is rationally related to that interest, he wrote.

Jeffrey Collins, attorney for the Steamship Authority, said he could not comment on the decision because the litigation is ongoing.

Judge: Religious exemptions for vaccine cannot compromise safety of other workers

In his ruling, Stearns said religious exemptions cannot be allowed to compromise the safety and well-being of other employees, customers and vendors, or else risk undermining trust and confidence in the Steamship Authority. Additionally, Stearns said the Authority was upholding proper public health standards in mandating employees get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“Granting eleven indefinite religious exemptions creates a substantially higher risk of infection and transmission than granting one time-limited medical exemption,” Stearns said in the ruling.

A spokesperson for the Steamship Authority said they could not comment on the ongoing case.

What is the history of the lawsuit?

December’s ruling is the second time the judge has rejected the workers’ argument, upholding the Authority’s vaccine mandate policy. Originally filed in February 2022 in Barnstable County Superior Court, the case was transferred to the U.S. District Court where Stearns ruled against the plaintiffs in March 2022 — the decision which was later appealed.

The workers claimed the mandate would cause “irreparable injury due to loss of fundamental constitutionally-guaranteed rights,” according to the civil action filed in February 2022. In the complaint, the plaintiffs sought $181,500 in anticipated lost wages due to the mandate.

Walker Armstrong reports on all things Cape and Islands, primarily focusing on courts, transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base. Contact him at WArmstrong@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jd__walker.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Judge rejects move by Steamship Authority workers to avoid vaccine