A religious Catholic was awarded practically $13 million in a discrimination lawsuit claiming she was fired in 2022 for refusing to comply with her firm’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate because it was towards her faith.
Lisa Domski, an IT specialist for the Blue Cross Blue Protect of Michigan (BCBSM), had labored for the corporate for a mixed whole of practically 40 years earlier than the non-profit canned her for not getting the jab.
BCBSM applied a compulsory vaccination coverage for its staff in Oct. 2021, requiring all employees to be totally vaccinated from COVID-19 until they apply for non secular or medical lodging.
The corporate gave all staff till Dec. 8, 2021, to stick to the mandate.
Regardless of following the suitable channels supplied by BCBSM for workers to file for a spiritual exemption, Domski’s request was denied, in line with a discrimination lawsuit initially obtained by the Epoch Occasions.
Domski, a loyal Catholic from Wyandotte, Michigan, declined the pictures as a result of she believed the vaccines that had been in circulation on the time had been both examined or developed utilizing fetal cells that had been obtained from abortions, the Catholic Herald reported.
After denying the request, BCBSM allegedly threatened their longtime worker with termination if she didn’t comply to the mandate.
Domski nonetheless refused and was finally fired on Jan. 5, 2022, following an almost month-long unpaid depart of absence, in line with the go well with filed within the US District Court docket of Japanese Michigan in Aug. 2023.
She was amongst practically 250 staff fired by the corporate after requesting a spiritual exemption to the mandate.
The corporate claimed in court docket filings that Domski lacked a sincerely held non secular perception.
Domski had transitioned to a full-time distant employee throughout the pandemic and had already been working 75% of her job from dwelling earlier than the pandemic hit in 2020.
The corporate claimed to have been unaware of Domski’s faith regardless of her petition containing the contact info for her priest and parish.
BCBSM performed a collection of interviews for all the workers that had requested exemptions from the mandate however the course of was “arbitrary and woefully inconsistent,” in line with the go well with.
Domski’s lawyer questioned the explanation for mandating a completely distant employee to be vaccinated regardless of clients or contractors on the premises needing the vaccine.
“This was a girl who was working from dwelling in her basement workplace who wasn’t a menace to anyone and was utterly fulfilling all of her job obligations for 38 years,” Jon Marko instructed Fox Information.
“They made up their minds that they had been going to discriminate towards individuals who had sincerely held non secular beliefs,” he added.
A jury in Detroit federal court docket present in favor of Domski and awarded her $12.69 million in whole damages.
Of the practically $13 million acquired, $10 million was marked as “punitive damages,” practically $1.7 million for misplaced pay and one other $1 million in noneconomic damages.
BCBSM denied any discrimination towards Domski and had been trying into choices to enchantment following the decision.
“Whereas Blue Cross respects the jury course of and thanks the person jurors for his or her service, we’re disillusioned within the verdict,” the well being insurer stated. “Blue Cross is reviewing its authorized choices and can decide its path ahead within the coming days.”
Marko celebrated the court docket verdict, calling it a “main victory” that “units a robust precedent as comparable fits proceed to emerge nationwide,” he stated on Fb.
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