Healthcare system Mercyhealth agreed to pay more than $1 million to employees who had refused the Covid-19 vaccine in a settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. That’s according to a release from the EEOC. Mercyhealth also offered to reinstate employees it had let go for refusing to comply with its Covid-19 vaccine policy.
The EEOC says between September 2021 and May 2022, Mercyhealth denied its workers a religious accommodation exemption and subjected them to a wage deduction for refusing to take the Covid-19 vaccine, or fired them if they refused to accept both the shot and the deduction. The agency says the policy violates the law that prohibits discrimination based on religion.
MercyHealth said in the release that the healthcare organization respects the religious beliefs of its employees and was trying to balance carrying out its mission, keeping employees and the patients safe, and complying with federal rules that mandated all staff receive the vaccine. The nonprofit says it appreciates the work of the EEOC to resolve the disputes and says the settlement permits it to close a chapter on its work during the pandemic.
The nonprofit healthcare system operates hospitals and clinics across northern Illinois, including Rockford, Elgin and Chicago’s northwest suburbs, and southern Wisconsin.