$12.69 Million Awarded in Religious Discrimination Case Over COVID Vaccine Mandate

Detroit, MI — A federal jury in Michigan has awarded a former IT worker for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a staggering sum of $12.69 million. The decision arrives after the jury concluded that the employee was unjustly terminated following her refusal, grounded in religious beliefs, to comply with a company-mandated COVID-19 vaccine requirement instituted in 2021.

The case, identified as Domski v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, highlights a growing contemplation on the obligations of employers to accommodate religious beliefs under federal and state laws. The plaintiff, adhering to her Catholic faith, submitted a formal request for exemption from the vaccination citing that the vaccine’s development and testing methodologies contradicted her religious convictions about the sanctity of life and abortion.

Despite her arguments, and biblical citations presented as part of her accommodation request, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan declined the exemption. They subsequently placed the employee on unpaid leave, leading to her final dismissal. This sequence of events spurred the lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, alongside Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, advocating against religious discrimination.

Post-verdict, representatives from Blue Cross Blue Shield informed the Catholic News Agency that they had established an accommodation process aligned with state and federal regulations and respected their employees’ religious beliefs. The organization also mentioned it was contemplating its future legal avenues in light of the recent ruling.

This verdict echoes a broader legal backdrop where businesses are scrupulously evaluated on their handling of religious accommodation requests. A notable instance involved a Michigan health system that settled for $50,000 in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The suit alleged the health system rejected a job applicant’s exemption request from an annual flu shot mandate without adequately considering his religious stance.

Further exemplifying the increasing scrutiny on such matters, an August decision by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals underscored the validity of religious accommodation requests, potentially mixed with secular reasons. It overturned a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit by a surgical nurse and a pharmacy technician in Wisconsin, reinforcing that employment decisions should partially hinge on employees’ genuine religious beliefs.

In detail, as noted during the court proceedings, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s management expressed skepticism over the authenticity of religious accommodations concerning their vaccine mandate. This skepticism translated into stringent evaluation practices, during which employees’ requests were scrutinized intensely, occasionally resembling cross-examinations aimed at compelling vaccination compliance.

The jury’s compensation breakdown for the former IT employee included $315,000 for lost wages, $1.375 million for future lost earnings, $1 million for emotional distress, and a significant $10 million in punitive damages intended to penalize the insurer for their handling of the situation.

Cases such as Domski v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan serve as pivotal reminders to corporations about the intricacies and potential repercussions of navigating employees’ religious freedoms in conjunction with public health mandates.

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