A pediatrician at Indianapolis-based Ascension St. Vincent Hospital who was fired after failing to comply with his employer's COVID-19 vaccination requirement will not be granted immediate reinstatement, the Society for Human Resource Management reported Aug. 22.
The 7th U.S. District Court of Appeals on June 23 upheld a district court's decision that Paul Halczenko, MD, was not entitled to his previous employment.
Dr. Halczenko was working at the hospital in July 2021 when St. Louis-based Ascension announced a vaccination requirement for employees. Employees at Ascension hospitals, including St. Vincent, were given until Nov. 12, 2021, to get vaccinated unless they received a medical or religious exemption.
Dr. Halczenko, a pediatric critical care specialist, was not granted a religious exemption because St. Vincent said such an exemption would pose more than a minimal burden to the hospital. Dr. Halczenko worked with acutely ill pediatric patients, and there are only three Ascenion pediatric intensive care units in Indiana.
Dr. Halczenko and four of his St. Vincent co-workers, including two pediatric ICU nurses, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging religious discrimination, according to court documents. The five employees were suspended without pay in November 2021, and Dr. Halczenko lost his job in January 2022.
Dr. Halczenko and four of his St. Vincent co-workers also filed a lawsuit in November 2021 alleging religious discrimination under Title VII, according to court documents. The four other St. Vincent workers were later granted religious accommodations. Dr. Halczenko was the only worker who sought a preliminary injunction requiring St. Vincent to reinstate him.
However, "the district court denied the motion, concluding not only that Dr. Halczenko had failed to show irreparable injury from losing his job, but also that Title VII afforded him adequate remedies other than a preliminary injunction compelling St. Vincent to reinstate an unvaccinated physician to its pediatric [intensive care unit]," according to court documents.
Becker's reached out to Ascension for a comment and will update the story if one is received.