INDIANAPOLIS — More than five dozen St. Vincent Hospital and Ascension Health workers in Indiana are suing the health care system on allegations they were discriminated against when their requests for exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds were denied.
The class-action lawsuit alleges Ascension Health, which owns St. Vincent, violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by denying those requests.
According to the complaint, employees received emails stating the accommodation would pose "undue hardship to the organization due to increased risk to the workplace and patient safety."
The lawsuit alleges Ascension Health failed to assess and establish how making such accommodations would pose undue hardship as required by Title VII.
"Ascension Health established a coercive process calculated to force healthcare workers and staff to abandon their religious objections to the COVID-19 vaccination and receive the vaccination against their will," it alleges.
It further claims employees were told if they were unvaccinated they would be suspended without pay on Nov. 12 through Dec. 17, 2021, then "voluntarily resigned" on Jan. 4 if they still hadn't received the vaccine. Ascension Healthcare later allowed previously suspended unvaccinated employees to return to work, "with no restrictions beyond those imposed on vaccinated employees," it claims.
"Ascension Health violated Title VII by, among other things: failing to provide reasonable accommodations, refusing to follow federal law in assessing religious exemptions, and suspending without pay thousands of employees whose religious convictions would not permit them to receive the COVID-19 vaccines," the suit claims.
In an email, a spokesperson for the healthcare system wrote, "We are not able to comment on matters involving active litigation."
-
Meet Mike Vollmer — a member of the Indy Mini-Marathon Alumni Club
Mike Vollmer a member of the Indy Mini Alumni Club, a group of only 5 people who are able to say they've participated in every single race since 1977.ACLU of Indiana sues Indiana University over campus bans resulting from protests
The ACLU of Indiana claims the university violated the First Amendment rights of three people who face a one-year ban from campus because they participated in the protests.Lawrence officer arrested for domestic battery in Johnson County
A Lawrence police officer was arrested this week in Johnson County for domestic battery. He has been placed on administrative leave.Fever move preseason game to Thursday to accommodate Pacers playoff schedule
The game is moving from the originally scheduled start of 7 p.m. on Friday due to Game 3 of the Pacers vs. Knicks Eastern Conference semi-finals game being scheduled for that night.