Silver Cross Hospital Violated Worker's Religious Rights With Vaccine Mandate, Firing: EEOC

CHICAGO — Silver Cross Hospital has been sued over claims it allegedly violated federal law when it fired an employee who asked for exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine to align with her religious beliefs, according to a lawsuit filed last week.

Filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last week, the lawsuit alleges that the hospital "failed to provide a reasonable accommodation" for the employee, who was a surgical tech there.

The lawsuit states that the employee first requested a religious accommodation from the hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in August 2021 because of her Christian beliefs. The hospital denied her request for an accommodation, the lawsuit states, and retaliated by terminating her employment in November 2021, "even though she could have been accommodated without undue hardship."

"Workplace rules like vaccination requirements—while not inherently discriminatory—must adhere to Title VII’s protections for religious accommodation," said Catherine Eschbach, acting general counsel for the EEOC. "These protections are a core safeguard of federal civil rights law. Where an accommodation can be provided without undue hardship, the law requires it. Unfortunately, that did not occur in this case."

The lawsuit alleges that the hospital's actions violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination because of religion as well as retaliation for complaining about it.

The EEOC filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for the employee, including compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive relief to prevent similar actions by the hospital.