A federal jury recently awarded over $12 million to an employee due to religious discrimination in a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
According to court documents (Domski v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan), the claim arose after an employee requested a religious accommodation to be exempted from her company’s Covid vaccine mandate.
The employer not only rejected the exemption request – refusing to offer accommodations such as an option to wear a mask or undergo period testing – but placed the employee on unpaid leave before terminating her employment, allegedly due to her religious beliefs.
Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin and religion. The law requires employers, upon notice of a request, to reasonably accommodate employees who’s sincerely held religious beliefs, practices, or observances conflict with work requirements, unless the accommodation would create an undue hardship.
It unlawful for employers to 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 religion or religious practices. Employment discrimination, to include harassment or retaliation on the basis of protected class, is prohibited.
In a clear message to employers regarding religious freedoms as it relates to religious accommodations in the workplace, the jury awarded the employee hundreds of thousands in back pay, over a million in front pay, $1 million in non economic damages, and $10 million in punitive damages.
If you are discriminated against in your workplace on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin and religion or other protected classes, contact the employment discrimination attorneys of Alan C. Olson & Associates for help today at 262-785-9606.
