NEW YORK—Marjel Kola was living the American dream. After attending college in Italy, he emigrated to the United States from his home country of Albania at age 22. He joined the New York Police Department at 33. He and his wife own their own house in the suburbs.
But the dream came to an end when he was denied a religious exemption from the City of New York’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and was ultimately terminated.
Kola belongs to the Seventh-day Adventist Church and his religion prohibits him from working on the “Biblical Sabbath,” which is Friday at sunset through Saturday at sunset….