A Minnesota college professor who was terminated after refusing to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine or testing mandate is suing Governor Tim Walz and school administrators, alleging violations of his constitutional rights. Russell Stewart, a tenured ethics and philosophy professor at Lake Superior College for nearly 30 years, claims the state’s actions under Walz’s 2021 executive policy were unlawful. He is seeking reinstatement and legal recognition that his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated.
In August 2021, Walz implemented Policy 1446, requiring all state employees to either take the COVID-19 vaccine or submit to weekly testing. Stewart, who had contracted COVID in December 2021 and asserted he had natural immunity, declined both options. He also cited concerns about the limited testing of the vaccine and questioned its ability to prevent transmission.
The college placed Stewart on unpaid leave, barred him from campus, and formally terminated him in March 2022, just weeks before the mandate was rescinded. His lawsuit, filed with the assistance of the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), claims the policy violated his right to due process and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment, given his natural immunity. It also alleges First Amendment retaliation, as Stewart was disciplined for emailing students about his absence and his objections to the mandate.
The NCLA argues that long-standing precedent from Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905) has been wrongly expanded to justify sweeping mandates without clear evidence of preventing disease transmission. They contend that Stewart’s case highlights the need to reestablish limits on government power in public health policy, especially where personal medical decisions and constitutional liberties intersect.
The lawsuit seeks not only reinstatement but also a formal ruling that the state’s actions were unconstitutional.
