Former Bellingham First Responders’ COVID Vaccine Mandate Case Ends as Supreme Court Declines to Hear It

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Mario Tama | Getty Images Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Pocket The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 5 declined to hear a challenge by former Bellingham, Washington, first responders and city workers who lost their jobs after refusing the city’s 2021 COVID-19 vaccine requirement. The decision leaves in place rulings by two lower federal courts that dismissed their lawsuit.

The case, Brock v. City of Bellingham, appeared on the Court’s order list among petitions denied without comment. No justice noted a dissent. For the 18 former employees who brought the petition, the denial likely ends their federal case. The petition was filed Aug. 24, considered at the justices’ Sept. 28 private conference, and denied a week later.

The petitioners included former police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, an inspector, and a wastewater supervisor, according to Cascadia Daily News. The original lawsuit, filed in 2024 against the city and former Mayor Seth Fleetwood, challenged an executive order issued in September 2021 that required city employees to be vaccinated.

The lawsuit argued that the 14th Amendment protects a right to refuse “investigational” or “new” drugs. It also claimed violations of due process, equal protection, and privacy, along with wrongful termination. The case did not raise a religious freedom claim.

The petition argued that lower courts “failed to address whether the 14th Amendment precludes states and their political subdivisions from mandating the administration of ‘new drugs,'” The Spokesman-Review reported. Attorney David Schexnaydre earlier said his clients were “forced to choose between a rock and a whirlpool.”

In January 2025, U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein dismissed all claims. She noted that the FDA had fully approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Aug. 23, 2021, before the mandate took effect, so the vaccine was not investigational. She also found that federal emergency-use and PREP Act provisions do not give individuals a right to sue under civil rights law, and that the mandate did not implicate a fundamental right, according to the district court ruling.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed in May 2026 in an unpublished decision. “We have already concluded that substantially similar mandates, which were imposed for substantially similar reasons, survive rational basis review,” the three-judge panel wrote in its memorandum.

The city waived its right to respond to the petition. No public statement from the city or the plaintiffs’ attorney on the denial was available in the reporting reviewed by MedicalDaily.

A refusal to hear a case does not mean the Supreme Court agreed with the lower courts. According to the Court’s own guidance, a denial “signifies only that the Court has chosen not to accept the case for review and does not express the Court’s view of the merits of the case.” The Court hears arguments in only about 1% of cases filed each term.

Because the denial sets no national precedent, its legal effect is limited to this case, and other courts remain free to reach their own conclusions. The Ninth Circuit’s decision was also unpublished, which means it does not bind future cases in that circuit, though it reflects how the court has treated similar mandates.

The outcome fits a broader pattern. Courts have largely upheld workplace and school vaccine requirements under long-standing precedent. In September, the justices also turned away an emergency request from a New York mother seeking a religious exemption for her kindergartner.

The Bellingham case stems from a 2021 mandate. The denial does not create new rules for current workers, and it does not affect vaccine availability.

For workers, the main lesson is practical. Employer vaccine policies, especially for health care and public safety jobs, often depend on state law, union contracts, and whether medical or religious accommodations are offered. Workers with concerns can review their employer’s written policy, ask about accommodation procedures, and keep copies of any requests.

People with medical concerns about a vaccine should discuss them with a clinician, who can review their health history and any documented reactions. Possible vaccine injuries can be reported to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.

The Bellingham workers’ federal case is over, but the denial decides nothing beyond their case, and the debate over mandates and exemptions continues in other courts.

What did the Supreme Court decide? On Oct. 5, it declined to hear Brock v. City of Bellingham, leaving lower court dismissals in place. No justice noted a dissent.

Who brought the case? Eighteen former Bellingham employees, including police officers, firefighters, and EMTs, who lost their jobs after refusing the 2021 mandate, petitioned the Court.

What did the workers argue? They argued the 14th Amendment protects a right to refuse new or investigational drugs and claimed due process and equal protection violations.

Does the denial set a national precedent? No. A denial does not express the Court’s view on the merits and does not bind other courts.

Does this affect vaccine rules today? Not directly. The decision creates no new rules for current workers and does not affect vaccine availability.