(The Center Square) – The first U.S. settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit brought by healthcare workers over the university system’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Chicago-based NorthShore University HealthSystem has agreed to pay more than 500 current and former health care workers a total of $10,337,500 as part of the terms of the settlement. It is also changing its policy to accommodate religious exemption requests and to rehire former employees who were laid off or forced to resign whose exemption requests were denied.
Represented by the nonprofit religious freedom organization Liberty Counsel, NorthShore employees sued, claiming they were discriminated against because they were denied religious exemptions from the company’s vaccine mandate. The settlement was archived Friday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
It is the “first-of-its-kind class action settlement against a private employer that illegally denied hundreds of requests for a religious exemption for COVID-19 vaccines,” Liberty Counsel said. Its founder and president, Mat Staver, said it “should be a wake-up call to all employers who did not accommodate or exempt employees who opposed COVID vaccinations on religious grounds. May this case be a warning to employers who violated Title VII.”
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
The settlement nearly ends a conflict that began after NorthShore rejected requests for religious accommodations from employees to its “Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.” Last October, Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter on behalf of the affected employees, but NorthShore did not change its policy. As a result, Liberty Counsel filed a class action lawsuit.
“Had NorthShore agreed to follow the law and grant religious exemptions, the matter would have been resolved quickly and cost NorthShore nothing,” Liberty Counsel said.
While the parties have agreed to the settlement, it has yet to be approved by the court. NorthShore employees who have been denied religious exemptions will receive notice of the settlement and will have an opportunity to comment, object, request exclusion, or file a claim form for payment within timeframes yet to be established by the court.
The settlement requires NorthShore to change its “no religious accommodations” policy, which it has agreed to do, and provide religious accommodations at all positions in its company.
Employees who were laid off because their religious exemption requests were denied are now eligible to be rehired, according to the terms of the agreement. They may apply for positions at their previous seniority level within 90 days of the court’s approval of the final agreement.
NorthShore Public Relations Director Colette Urban told The Center Square, “We continue to support system-wide evidence-based vaccination requirements for everyone who works at NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health and thank members. of our team for helping keep our communities safe. .
“The agreement reflects the implementation of a new system-wide vaccination policy that will include housing for team members with approved waivers, including former employees who are rehired.”
The amount individuals will receive in payments will depend on how many valid and timely claim forms are submitted. If all, or nearly all, of the affected employees file valid and timely claims, it is estimated that those who were laid off or forced to resign after their religious exemption requests were denied will receive approximately $25,000 each. Those who were vaccinated under duress to keep their jobs and against their religious beliefs will receive about $3,000 each.
The 13 employees who were the main plaintiffs will receive an additional payment of approximately $20,000 each. Liberty Counsel will receive 20% of the $2,061,500 settlement amount to cover attorneys’ fees and costs.
Horatio G. Mihet, Vice President of Legal Affairs and Senior Litigation Counsel at Liberty Counsel, said, “The drastic change in policy and the substantial monetary relief required by the settlement will bring a strong measure of justice to NorthShore employees who were forced insensibly to choose between his conscience and his jobs. This agreement should also serve as a strong warning to employers across the country that they cannot refuse to accommodate those with sincere religious objections to forced vaccination mandates.”
Staver added that it was “especially significant and gratifying that this first-of-a-kind COVID settlement protects healthcare workers. Health workers are heroes who daily give their lives to protect and treat their patients. They are needed now more than ever.”