Northwestern Medicine to Pay $325,000 to Resolve EEOC Religious Discrimination Charges

CHICAGO — Northwestern Medical Group (Northwestern Medicine) agreed to pay $325,000 in monetary relief to a class of employees denied vaccine exemptions because of their religious beliefs or practices and to provide other relief following an investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The agreement resolves charges filed with the EEOC alleging discrimination against employees based on their religion when it denied reasonable accommodation requests to employees who requested a faith-based exemption to Northwestern Medicine’s mandatory flu vaccination policy.

The EEOC’s investigation found that Northwestern Medicine discriminated against a class of employees from November 10, 2023, to the present at its facilities across Illinois by denying these employees a religious accommodation and by denying them the opportunity to earn an annual bonus which the employer described as a “vaccine incentive bonus,” intended to motivate compliance with the vaccination mandate policy.

“Workplace rules and incentives for vaccinations must fully comply with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including the requirement to provide religious accommodations, absent undue hardship” said EEOC Chair Andrea R. Lucas. “Religious accommodations are not optional, they are a fundamental protection under federal civil rights law, and we appreciate the work of EEOC staff and Northwestern Medicine’s cooperation in resolving this matter.”

The alleged conduct 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 two-year agreement requiring Northwestern Medicine to provide compensatory damages to the aggrieved individuals. The agreement also requires Northwestern Medicine to revise its policies, educate staff on their rights in the religious accommodation process, train management who exercise decision-making authority on religious accommodation requests, and report to the EEOC about religious accommodation request denials.

For more information on religious discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Chicago District Office has jurisdiction over Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and North and South Dakota, with Area Offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

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 also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.