A federal judge ruled that former Boston College landscaper Avenir Agaj can move forward with a lawsuit alleging his 2021 firing for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine violated his First Amendment religious rights.
“Agaj believed the COVID-19 vaccine would pose a risk to his health, and that the College’s vaccination requirement thus conflicted with a tenet of the Bogomil faith requiring adherents to abstain from taking action that would pose a risk to their health or spiritual wellbeing,” U.S. District Court Judge Julia Kobick wrote in her ruling.
University Spokesman Jack Dunn said in a statement to The Heights that the University intends to vigorously defend itself against this claim.
In his original complaint, filed on April 5, 2024, Agaj described himself as an adherent of the Bogomil faith and a practitioner of folk medicine, both of which he said were incompatible with receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
Founded in Bulgaria during the mid-10th century, Bogomilism teaches that the material world was created by the devil, who is regarded as God’s other son and the brother of Jesus, according to a document Agaj submitted to the court. Today, the religion is nearly extinct.
After the University announced in April 2021 that all students, faculty, and staff would be required to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine, Agaj made several attempts to receive an exemption on the grounds of his religious beliefs, according to his complaint.
“My religious belives as BOGOMIL forbits me to take any thing that risks my health and spiritual wellbeing,” Agaj wrote in his request for an exemption. “My body is my Temple it is my duty an obligation to keep it pure, free from filth.”
His requests were denied, and he was subsequently fired on August 31, 2021.
In a statement to The Heights, Agaj accused the University of creating unfair obstacles to maintaining his job while practicing his religion.
“My sincere religious beliefs, freedom, and health are not for sale at any price,” Agaj wrote. “I have stated that health freedoms are more important than any job. Boston College created a barrier to my employment, not the other way around.”
On June 3, 2024, the University filed a motion asking Kobick to dismiss Agaj’s case, arguing that Agaj’s refusal to vaccinate himself was not based on a genuine religious practice and that his religion did not justify an exemption from the vaccine requirement.
Kobick cited evidence of Agaj’s efforts to obtain an exemption and partially rejected BC’s motion, affirming that Agaj had clearly expressed his religious beliefs before his termination.
“Absent an exemption, Agaj could not comply with Boston College’s vaccine requirement without transgressing the religious beliefs he identifies in his complaint,” Kobick wrote. “Agaj chose not to be vaccinated and was terminated in direct response to that choice.”
Following Kobick’s ruling, The University filed a response to Agaj’s original complaint, denying any violation of his rights during his termination. It also argued that, as a Catholic institution, its COVID-19 vaccine mandate was an exercise of its religious rights under the First Amendment—the same basis Agaj used in his lawsuit.
Although Kobick rejected the University’s attempt to throw out the case, she dismissed Agaj’s other allegation that the University retaliated against him based on his religion and status as a “legal immigrant minority”.
“To the extent Agaj seeks to assert a claim of retaliation or discrimination based on his race or national origin, or retaliation based on religion, those claims will be dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies,” Kobick ruled.
Agaj reaffirmed his determination to continue with his lawsuit against the University.
“My intentions are to go to a jury trial or all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if I have to,” Agaj wrote. “I want JUSTICE.”
Leave a Reply