Mercyhealth to Pay Over $1 Million to Settle EEOC COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate-Related Religious Discrimination Charges

CHICAGO – Mercyhealth, a health care system operating hospitals and clinics in Illinois and Wisconsin, agreed to pay more than $1 million in monetary relief to a class of employees and has offered to reinstate employees that it terminated for refusing to comply with the organization’s COVID-19 vaccine policy.  The settlement follows an investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The agency’s investigation 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 class of similarly situated employees across all its facilities 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. I am proud of the monetary relief that we have obtained here, and I am equally proud that these employees—who remained committed to their religious beliefs and practice at great personal cost—will receive job offers.”

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, without consideration for any religious accommodations.

Such 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 three-year agreement requiring Mercyhealth to provide back pay and compensatory damages to the aggrieved individuals. 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.

“Mercyhealth respects the religious beliefs and practices of its employees,” said Kara Sankey, Vice President of Clinical Operations and Chief Nursing Officer for Mercyhealth. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mercyhealth had to confront and address extraordinary challenges in order to carry out its charitable health care mission, while doing its best to protect the health and safety of its patients and its employees and comply with federal rules requiring all hospital staff receive vaccinations.

“The balancing of these critical goals could not be achieved without the dedication of our doctors and staff in times of significant personal risk, and Mercyhealth appreciates the work and assistance of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in resolving these remaining disputes,” Sankey said. “The process permits Mercyhealth to demonstrate its long-held commitment to employee rights and to close another chapter in its work during the pandemic.”

For more information on religious discrimination, 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 is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC is also responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.