Inspira Medical Centers, Inc., a New Jersey corporation, also known as Inspira Health Network, which owns and operates several hospitals and numerous health centers in New Jersey, has entered into conciliation agreements with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to resolve six religious discrimination charges, the federal agency announced. According to the EEOC, all six charges were the result of Inspira denying employees a religious exemption to its mandatory influenza vaccination policy. Prior to 2020, Inspira’s influenza vaccination policy provided for both medical and religious exemptions. In 2020, Inspira modified its influenza vaccination policy in an attempt to comply with a New Jersey statute that requires health care employees to get the influenza vaccine. The statute provided for medical exemptions but didn’t provide religious exemptions. Inspira then modified its pre-existing influenza vaccination policy to remove the ability to obtain a religious exemption and denied their employees’ request for a religious accommodation.
