In Vesterman v. New York City Department of Education, (2d Cir., June 3, 2026), the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a religious discrimination claim brought by a former New York Department of Education employee who was denied a religious accommodation after objecting to compliance with the Department’s Covid vaccine mandate. The court said in part:
In [two prior] cases, we applied strict scrutiny and sustained the plaintiffs’ claims on a motion to dismiss where they made plausible allegations that the DOE denied an accommodation by questioning the legitimacy of their religious beliefs…. We have applied the “low threshold” of rational basis review, however, where the DOE has denied an accommodation “irrespective of [the employee’s] sincerely held religious beliefs” on the basis of “undue hardship.” …
Here, Vesterman’s claim triggers only rational basis review because she has not alleged that the DOE improperly scrutinized her religious beliefs or otherwise denied her request in a way that was not neutral towards religion nor generally applicable to all employees. Under rational basis review, Vesterman has failed to plausibly allege that the DOE’s rationale—that her request imposed an “undue hardship” because “unvaccinated employees cannot work in a school building without posing a direct threat to health and safety,” … was either erroneous or pretextual.
The court also affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s due process stigma-plus claim growing out of her being listed in the Department’s “problem code” database.