HOSPITAL AGREED TO PAY $50,000 TO REJECTED JOB APPLICANT
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced the settlement of a lawsuit wherein the agency had alleged that Trinity Health Grand Rapids, f/k/a Mercy Health St. Mary’s, had engaged in discriminatory conduct because it refused to accommodate the religious beliefs of a job applicant, who declined to take a flu vaccine.
Believing that such conduct was in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the agency filed suit (EEOC v. Trinity Health-Michigan, d/b/a Mercy Health St. Mary’s, Case No. 1:23-cv-00435) in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.
In addition to a $50,000 payment to the impact individual, the hospital has agreed to modify its employment related practices and policies, including the accommodation of religious beliefs “unless doing so would pose an undue hardship.”
In a written statement, EEOC Senior Trial Attorney Dale Price noted that, “Employees should not have to check their religious beliefs at the workplace door …. The applicant’s objection, which was based on his sincere religious beliefs, could have been easily accommodated. The EEOC will vigorously protect the religious rights of applicants and employees in the workplace.”
Mercy me.
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