A federal jury has awarded a former BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee employee nearly $700,000 after she was terminated for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in 2021.
The former employee "proved by a preponderance of the evidence that her refusal to receive the Covid vaccination was based upon a sincerely held religious belief," a federal judge in the Eastern District Of Tennessee wrote June 28. "[BCBS Tennessee] did not prove by a preponderance of the evidence either that it had offered a reasonable accommodation to plaintiff or that it could not reasonably accommodate the plaintiff’s religious beliefs without undue hardship."
The former employee worked at BCBST from 2005 to 2021, mostly as a bio statistical research scientist. Her normal portfolio involved 10 to 12 clients, whom she rarely interacted with directly. Her work did not involve medical facilities where patients were treated, and she worked independently from home beginning in March 2020.
In 2021, BCBST advised the employee that she would be required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 as a condition of employment. The employee submitted a religious accommodation request, which was denied for her specific role. Ultimately, the employee was terminated for failure to comply with the vaccine mandate.
In the June 28 judgment, the jury awarded the former employee $687,240.00 in damages, comprising $177,240 in back pay, $10,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages.
"We're disappointed by the decision," Dalya Qualls White, senior vice president and chief communications officer at BCBST, told Becker's. "We believe our vaccine requirement was the best decision for our employees and members, and we believe our accommodation to the requirement complied with the law. We appreciate our former employees' service to our members and communities throughout their time with our company."
In a related ongoing class action lawsuit filed in September 2023, former employees with BCBST say their religious rights were violated by the payer after they were also terminated for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID.
BCBST required up to 900 employees to get vaccinated for COVID as a condition of employment, with exceptions for medical/disability or religious reasons decided on a case-by-case basis. The employees subject to the mandate were "customer facing" positions, and 41 employees were eventually terminated for noncompliance.