Balancing Faith and Public Health: The Ninth Circuit’s Ruling in Bacon v. Woodward on Vaccine Mandates and Religious Exemptions
The primary issue in Bacon v. Woodward concerns whether the City of Spokane’s implementation of Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 Proclamation, which required state agency workers to be fully vaccinated, violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment as applied to Spokane firefighters who sought religious exemptions.