Hospital Settles Religious Vaccine Exemption Case

0:00In Durham, its March 2nd. Here's what is happening. Rex Healthcare has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The case centered on the hospital firing an employee who refused the COVID-19 vaccine based on her religious beliefs. The worker, Heather Goeller, handled remote duties from the start of the pandemic in March 2020 and was never told to return in person. She had gotten religious exemptions for the flu shot in 2019 and 2020, but the hospital denied her four requests for the COVID. Vaccine in 2021, they let her go on November 3rd that year. EEOC leaders stressed that companies must follow federal rules on religious accommodations, even amid tough times like the pandemic. The hospital maintains it follows the law made hard calls to safeguard patients and workers and welcomes putting the dispute behind them. Settlement terms give Goeller more than $85,000 in lost wages. Rex now has 30 days to roll out a dedicated policy for religious requests,

1:04covering how to apply, written decisions, reasons for rejections, review factors, and appeal options. Human resources teams will get yearly training on handling these issues. Officials say this strengthened support for their over 6,500 employees. The daily news now is presented by a sponsor, LinkedIn the description. Head in, sound on, lights out. That is the routine, S-O-L-L-I, solelypillow.com