Court revives lawsuit of physician assistant fired for Christian beliefs about gender

A federal appeals court ruled Aug. 27 that a lawsuit filed by a physician assistant who was fired over her Christian beliefs about gender can proceed, reversing a district court ruling that had taken the case out of court.

First Liberty, one of the law firms representing Valerie Kloosterman, stated in a news release that the physician assistant was fired in 2021 after she requested a religious accommodation to prevent her from being required to affirm statements about gender identity or refer patients for “gender-transition drugs or procedures.”

According to First Liberty, a nonmedical Michigan Health representative called Kloosterman “evil” and a “liar” because of her request for an accommodation. The representative also reportedly blamed Kloosterman for suicides related to gender dysphoria and forbade her from bringing the Bible or her religious beliefs with her to work. At the time of her termination, Kloosterman had worked for the University of Michigan Health System for 17 years.

“Medical professionals like Valerie should not have to abandon their religious beliefs in order to remain employed,” First Liberty stated. “Valerie has a legal right to work without having to violate her religious convictions, so that she can continue caring for her community and her patients.”

First Liberty said in the release that the district court had removed Kloosterman’s case from court and placed it in arbitration. However, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the case needs to be heard in a court of law, rather than by an arbitrator. Kayla Toney, First Liberty counsel, called the appeals court’s decision a “reckoning for institutions that discriminate and punish caring people of faith like Valerie Kloosterman.”

She continued, “It was intolerant of University of Michigan Health to fire Valerie because of her religious beliefs, and now the Sixth Circuit has recognized that they cannot avoid accountability by hiding the case in arbitration.”

The appeals court’s ruling sent the case back to the lower court, where Kloosterman’s attorneys will argue the merits of the case. According to First Liberty, the ruling is a “significant step toward a final victory,” but the litigation is “far from over.”