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A healthcare provider that operates hospitals and clinics in two states has agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle claims it discriminated against religious employees with its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Mercyhealth, which has facilities in Illinois and Wisconsin, reached the settlement after years of legal wrangling, after an investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The probe found that Mercyhealth had discriminated against employees by denying them religious exemptions from its vaccine mandate during the pandemic.
In addition, Mercyhealth fired workers, lowered their wages and discriminated against other works by denying them the chance to ask for a religious exemption, terminating their contracts and withholding pay.
“At the start of my tenure as acting chair of the EEOC, I committed to focusing our agency’s resources to address the very real problem of religious discrimination, and this resolution is just the beginning,” EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas said in a statement.
“This is an example of what our agency can accomplish when we work with employers to ensure that the doors of our workplaces are equally open to religious employees.”
If Mercyhealth had not reached a settlement, it could have been subject to lawsuits under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states that an employer cannot “fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”
The settlement includes back pay and damages to the workers who were affected. Merchealth has also agreed to update its policies and report to the EEOC about requests and decisions on company-wide vaccine programs.
Just over a week ago, President Trump ordered all federal agencies to delete any records associated with COVID-19 vaccination status, compliance with pandemic mandates or requests for vaccine exemptions, thanks to a new order from the Trump administration.
The order to delete the records was announced by the Office of Personnel Management in a memo to all heads of federal departments and agencies. Departments will have 90 days to comply; although individuals can request to have their information kept on file if they wish.
The memo explains that the order is a response to a number of legal cases against the government and also the Trump administration’s goal of reversing harmful policies adopted by President Biden during the pandemic.
Agencies are now barred from using an employee’s vaccine history in any employment-related decision, from hiring to termination.
“Things got out of hand during the pandemic, and federal workers were fired, punished, or sidelined for simply making a personal medical decision,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement.
“That should never have happened.”
“Thanks to President Trumpʼs leadership, weʼre making sure the excesses of that era do not have lingering effects on federal workers.”
In September 2021, President Biden signed an order forcing all federal workers to take a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment.
By the time a federal judge blocked the mandate in January 2022, the administration said 98% of employees covered by the order had been vaccinated.
The order was finally rescinded in May 2023.
Data released at the beginning of the month indicate that a majority of Americans will not be getting COVID boosters this fall.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data showing vaccination rates among kindergarteners in the US have hit a record low for the third successive year, as more and more parents make use of religious exemptions.
