Mercyhealth paying $1 million to settle religious discrimination charges

Mercyhealth in Rockford, Illinois, is paying more than $1 million to settle charges that it discriminated on the basis of religion by terminating employees for not complying with its COVID-19 vaccination policy.

The settlement follows an investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which found reasonable cause to believe that Mercyhealth discriminated against employees based on their religion by denying them a religious accommodation, and either terminating their employment or subjecting them to a wage deduction.

The EEOC also found reasonable cause to believe that Mercyhealth discriminated against a similar group of employees from September 2021 to May 2022 by denying them an opportunity to request a religious accommodation, opting instead either to terminate their employment or withhold money from their pay.

"At the start of my tenure as acting chair of the EEOC, I committed to focusing our agency's resources to address the very real problem of religious discrimination, and this resolution is just the beginning," said EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas. "This is an example of what our agency can accomplish when we work with employers to ensure that the doors of our workplaces are equally open to religious employees."

WHAT'S THE IMPACT

The agreement resolves charges alleging that Mercyhealth discriminated against employees based on their religion when it denied religious accommodations to employees who requested to be exempt from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

The charges also alleged that employees who were denied a religious accommodation and did not get the COVID-19 vaccine could continue working only if they signed a form allowing the company to deduct a $60 monthly fee from their wages, described by the employer as a "vaccine incentive charge."

Employees who did not get vaccinated and did not sign the wage deduction form were terminated, said EEOC. The group said this violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on religion.

Following the EEOC's investigation, the parties engaged in the pre-litigation conciliation process, which resulted in a three-year agreement requiring Mercyhealth to provide back pay and compensatory damages to the affected employees.

The agreement also requires Mercyhealth to recirculate its policies, train human resources personnel and those who exercise decision-making authority on religious accommodation requests, and report to the EEOC about religious accommodation requests and decisions related to any system-wide vaccination program.

THE LARGER TREND

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to the DOJ for potential litigation.

The EEOC is also responsible for coordinating the federal government's employment antidiscrimination effort.