Amicus Brief: Kloosterman v. Metropolitan Hospital

Valerie Kloosterman, an experienced physician assistant, was labeled “evil” and “a liar” and ultimately fired by the University of Michigan for taking issue with DEI trainings that conflicted with her Christian faith, in part regarding gender identity. Represented by First Liberty Institute, she sued for religious discrimination under Title VII and constitutional claims. After 13 months of litigation, Michigan Health sought to compel arbitration, which the court granted in April 2024, contrary to circuit and SCOTUS precedent. Ms. Kloosterman’s appeal to the Sixth Circuit argues that Michigan Health waived arbitration by litigating and that her claims are not subject to arbitration anyway. MI filed an amicus brief supporting that position by showing the lack of medical consensus surrounding pediatric gender medicine and discussing how constitutional/civil-rights claims are best examined in court.
Ilya Shapiro is a senior fellow and director of Constitutional Studies at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter here.
Tim Rosenberger is a legal fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Special thanks to law school associate James Doar.
Photo: RUNSTUDIO / DigitalVision via Getty Images
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