A hospital that fired an employee who refused a flu vaccination will pay $75,000 to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit, government officials said Friday.
Saint Thomas Health, which operates Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro, TN, required all employees to have a flu shot. This included food and environmental services employees from TouchPoint Support Services, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said.
One TouchPoint employee wore a protective mask in 2013 and 2014 instead of receiving a flu shot, claiming a religious exemption. But in 2015, the company denied that mask request and said he could not work at the hospital without the shot.
That violated a portion of the Civil Rights Act that requires employers to provide a reasonable accommodation for an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs, the EEOC said. While a pre-litigation settlement failed, the provider chose to settle prior to trail, while denying any wrongdoing.
In addition to the $75,000, the hospital agreed to modify its accommodation policy to allow an employee to appeal the termination of an accommodation for a sincerely held religious belief. It also will provide training.
The hospital is part of Ascension, the world’s largest Catholic health system.
