CU to pay $10 million to settle lawsuit by former medical school employees who refused COVID vaccine
The University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine agreed to pay million to settle a First Amendment lawsuit brought by former employees who lost their jobs for refusing to take a required COVID- vaccine The plaintiffs had religious objections to the vaccine but the university determined their objections weren t legitimate and fired them according to the Thomas More Society which represented the former CU employees and revealed the settlement Monday CU s Anschutz Health Campus in Aurora considered whether employees religions had an established doctrine prohibiting them from receiving any vaccines if not the school demanded whether the employee had received other shots and what made this one different The th U S Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in May that CU s process was an unconstitutional religious test by a establishment entity The university could have appealed to the U S Supreme Court whose current justices have generally favored plaintiffs alleging religious discrimination When the vaccines first became available in December they were more than effective in preventing infection meaning they could stop further transmission of the virus to healthcare care workers patients or colleagues Since then COVID- variants have become increasingly good at evading the immune system so that vaccination primarily benefits individuals by reducing the vulnerability of severe illness Michael McHale senior counsel for the Chicago-based Thomas More Society noted nothing could compensate the plaintiffs for career damage from having to choose whether to go against their convictions At great and sometimes career-ending costs our heroic clients fought for the First Amendment freedoms of all Americans who were put to the unconscionable choice of their livelihoods or their faith during what Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has rightly declared one of the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country ' McHale explained in a report We are confident our clients long-overdue preeminence indeed confirms despite the tyrannical efforts of various that our shared constitutional right to religious liberty endures Related Articles CU fitness researchers Boulder County retirement population partner on living lab Menopause hormone therapy no longer has the FDA s most-dire warning Now what Colorado doctor-turned-patient tripped up by bill for ankle surgery overnight hospital stay Blood test may detect who will get rheumatoid arthritis CU examination finds Julia Milzer a spokeswoman for CU s Anschutz Diagnostic Campus stated federal agencies required strength care facilities to have a vaccine mandate at the time The procedures is no longer in force but was right during that stage of the pandemic she commented A separate state mandate required vitality care workers to get the shot or receive a medicinal or religious exemption is also no longer in place While certain chose to challenge the procedures the evidence remains clear Vaccination was essential to protecting the vulnerable keeping hospitals open and sustaining instruction and research she revealed in a declaration We stand by the decisions made in that moment and remain deeply grateful to the robustness care professionals faculty staff and students whose courage and commitment protected our society and advanced our mission when it mattered majority of Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get wellbeing news sent straight to your inbox
