Ex-Employee's Bias Lawsuit Asked To Be Dismissed By Princeton U.

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, NJ — Princeton University filed a motion on Sept. 20 requesting the dismissal of a former employee's religious discrimination lawsuit.

On Aug. 16, Kate McKinley, a former budget analyst for the University, filed a lawsuit saying she faced “discriminatory treatment and harassment” at the workplace due to her religion and was fired for objecting to COVID-19 mitigation policies set by the University. More: Bias Lawsuit Over COVID Policies Filed By Ex-Princeton U. Employee

In the filing, the University said McKinley did not specify her religious reasoning for requesting the accommodations. Princeton University said they did not discriminate or retaliate against her.

McKinley said in the lawsuit that Princeton violated Title VII by subjecting her to “retaliation for her protected complaints and opposition” to the institution's “discriminatory COVID-19 policies.”

Princeton University’s filing argued that they did not violate Title VII, citing the prior ruling in Fallon v. Mercy Catholic Med. Ctr. The University said McKinley “fails to offer sufficient facts to support her claims” that they violated Title VII.

The filing stated that McKinley "was informed that compliance with Princeton's COVID-19 safety protocols was a condition for continued employment at Princeton," but she chose not to comply, which served as grounds for termination.

McKinley’s lawsuit also alleged that the University violated the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) by subjecting her “to retaliation for her protected complaints and opposition to Defendant’s unlawful collection of genetic information.”

The University responded by arguing that it did not violate GINA because McKinley “does not allege that the saliva samples taken from Princeton’s employees were being used for any purpose other than COVID-19 testing, which is a public health measure sanctioned by the CDC and the New Jersey Department of Health.”

McKinley is seeking monetary damages including, but not limited to, the loss of past and future income, wages, compensation, job security and other benefits of employment.

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