A Michigan healthcare system violated federal law when it failed to provide a religious accommodation to an applicant and declined to hire him because of his religious beliefs, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed May 1, 2023. The healthcare system has approximately 800 hospital beds in its five hospital campuses located in Grand Rapids, Muskegon, and Lakeshore, Michigan.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the healthcare system violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by rescinding a job offer to an applicant who, for religious reasons, refused to receive a flu vaccine. Under the healthcare system’s influenza policy, employees are required to get a flu shot on an annual basis unless granted an exemption. While the applicant’s conditional job offer was pending, he applied for an exemption to the flu shot requirement based on his religious beliefs. The healthcare system arbitrarily denied his request and rescinded the job offer, without specifying to the applicant why or how his request for an exemption was deficient, the EEOC said.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After attempting to reach a pre-litigation resolution through its conciliation process, the EEOC filed suit in US District Court Western District of Michigan. The EEOC is seeking monetary relief for the applicant and an injunction prohibiting the hospital from engaging in this type of conduct in the future.
“Instead of rejecting the applicant’s religious accommodation request outright, [the healthcare system] should have followed up with him if it had questions,” said Dale Price, senior trial attorney in the EEOC’s Detroit Field Office. “If it had questions, [the healthcare system] could have spoken with this individual before making a decision to determine the contours of his religious beliefs, rather than prematurely determining that his beliefs were not genuine.”
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.*
