The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that Mercyhealth, a hospital and health system headquartered in Illinois and Wisconsin, agreed to pay more than a million dollars to settle a lawsuit regarding its COVID-19 vaccine mandate and the employer's managing of employees' religious exemption requests.
The EEOC alleged that Mercyhealth violated federal law by failing to provide reasonable religious accommodations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The complaint alleged that Mercyhealth implemented a policy requiring its workforce to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and when some employees requested religious exemptions, the company denied these requests and either placed employees on unpaid leave or terminated their employment.
The settlement requires Mercyhealth not only to pay monetary relief to affected former employees but also to conduct additional training for staff and managers on Title VII's accommodation requirements, update its polices for managing religious accommodations, and report to the EEOC on future exemption requests and compliance efforts.
The EEOC emphasized that the case underscores the obligation of employers to genuinely engage with and consider accommodation requests for sincerely-held religious beliefs, especially during public health emergencies.
The consent decree resolving the suit provides for both financial and injunctive relief, aiming to ensure Mercyhealth's future compliance with federal employment discrimination law and to establish oversight of their accommodation practices for a specified period.
Source: https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/mercyhealth-pay-over-1-million-settle-eeoc-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-related-religious
Commentary
Healthcare organizations must approach religious accommodation requests with respect for the requirements of Title VII.
When an employee makes a request for an accommodation based on a sincerely-held religious belief, it is essential to initiate an interactive process to understand the requested accommodation and the nature of the religious belief. Employers are obligated under federal law to provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so would impose an undue hardship – defined as "substantial increased costs in relation to the business's operations."
Accommodations should be determined on a case-by-case basis. They may include, for example, schedule adjustments for prayer breaks, exempting staff from certain vaccinations, or enabling them to decline participation in specific workplace celebrations.
When a manager is presented with a request for an accommodation, they should immediately communicate the request to those in the organization authorized to engage in the interactive process to determine whether a reasonable accommodation exists.
The final takeaway is manage accommodation requests thoughtfully and document the process to protect both employer and employee.
