Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is settling a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to an EEOC Dec. 22 press release.
The pediatric healthcare system is set to pay $45,000 to a former maintenance employee who allegedly requested religious exemption from the system's flu vaccination requirements due to "sincerely held religious beliefs" in 2019, the suit claims.
CHOA had allegedly approved a religious exemption for the employee in both 2017 and 2018. While the employee worked primarily outside and had little public and staff interaction, the system reportedly denied his 2019 religious exemption request and fired him.
The suit claims that CHOA's alleged actions violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids firing an employee due to their religion and requires employers make reasonable accommodations for employees' religious beliefs, the release said.
After an initial attempt to reach a prelitigation settlement through a conciliation process, the EEOC filed the lawsuit against CHOA in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.
The former employee will receive $45,000 from CHOA in monetary damages under the consent decree resolving the lawsuit.
"It is the responsibility of an employer to accommodate its employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs," Marcus Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office, said in the release. "Unless doing so would require more than a minimal cost, an employer may not deny requested religious accommodations, let alone revoke those previously granted without issue."
The system will also make influenza vaccine religious exemption policy adjustments to account for remote employees or those primarily out of contact with patients and other colleagues, along with alternative position abilities if an employee's religious exemption request is turned down.
Under Title VII, certain CHOA employees will also be trained on religious accommodation rights, the release said.
Becker's has reached out to CHOA for comment regarding the lawsuit and will update this story if more information becomes available.