The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed two lawsuits against New Lenox, Ill.-based Silver Cross Hospital, alleging the facility violated federal law when it fired two workers who did not comply with its COVID-19 vaccine mandate in 2021.
The lawsuits, filed Aug. 1, state that the hospital denied the employees reasonable accommodation when they requested religious and disability-related exemptions from the policy. One employee, who worked in the hospital’s lab, requested a religious exemption. Another, who worked in the insurance department, requested a disability exemption after experiencing a severe allergic reaction to her first vaccine dose, according to the EEOC.
In a statement to Becker’s, a spokesperson for Silver Cross said the hospital “does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation or employment-related matters.”
“As a regional healthcare provider, Silver Cross Hospital’s foremost responsibility is to ensure the health and safety of our patients, our staff and the communities we serve,” the statement said.
The lawsuits state that Silver Cross could have accommodated both exemptions without undue hardship.
“Absent an undue hardship, civil rights laws affirmatively require employers to accommodate an employee’s disability and religious practices,” Andrea Lucas, EEOC acting chair, said in a news release. “Unfortunately, many employers’ vaccine mandates turned a blind eye to these long-standing civil rights laws. However, the novelty of the COVID-19 pandemic is not a shield for employers to engage in garden-variety discrimination.”
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief to prevent Silver Cross from engaging in similar conduct in the future.
