A pediatric healthcare system in Georgia violated federal law when it fired a maintenance assistant for requesting a religious exemption to its influenza vaccination policy, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced in a 12/16/2022 Press Release.
According to the EEOC’s suit, the maintenance employee, in accordance with the healthcare system’s procedures, requested a religious exemption to flu vaccination requirements based on sincerely held religious beliefs. The employee had previously been granted a religious exemption in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, however, the employee’s request for a religious accommodation was denied and he was fired, despite his extremely limited interaction with the public or staff.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits firing an employee because of his religion and requires that sincerely held religious beliefs be accommodated by employers. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement via its conciliation process. The EEOC is seeking back pay, front pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages for the employee, as well as injunctive relief to prevent future discrimination.
“It would not have been an undue burden for [the healthcare system] to continue accommodating its employee as it had in 2017 and 2018,” said Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office. “Instead, [the healthcare system] inexplicably changed its stance on flu vaccination exemptions for this maintenance employee in 2019 and failed to consider any meaningful reasonable accommodations for his sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Darrell Graham, district director of the Atlanta office, said, “Religion is defined to include all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, and the EEOC stands ready to enforce an employer’s statutory obligation to reasonably accommodate the religious observances and practices of its employees where doing so would not be an undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.”
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Religious discrimination involves treating a person (an applicant or employee) unfavorably because of his or her religious beliefs. The law protects not only people who belong to traditional, organized religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, but also others who have sincerely held religious, ethical, or moral beliefs. The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment. Unless it would be an undue hardship on the employer’s operation of its business, an employer must reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures to ensure prevention of any type of discrimination, including religious discrimination. Revise policies and procedures if needed.
- Train staff about their right to be free from discrimination in the workplace. Teach staff to report any concerns of discrimination against themselves or their co-workers to their immediate supervisor, the compliance officer, or through the facility’s hotline.
- Periodically audit by anonymously polling staff to determine if they are experiencing discrimination or have observed it happening to others. Ask if they feel free to report such instances without fear of retaliation or retribution.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
