Not a single doubt in the fact that the COVID-19 phase was super challenging for the healthcare providers all across the world, but some who took actions and made changes were appreciated for those. While others, who came up with some really specific changes like MercyHealth, got in trouble for that down the line. Surely, the case is now settled, and that is why we’re talking about the Mercy Health Settlement here, but it truly was an interesting one. So let’s get to know it a little better.
How Did The Issue Start With Mercyhealth’s Vaccine Policy?
From the looks of it or on the surface level, it could very well be that you don’t find anything wrong with Mercyhealth, but when you take a good look at whatever was going on behind the scenes, that’s when your concerns start to rise, and that is pretty much what we want to talk about.
First of all, in the context of the pandemic, Mercyhealth mandated employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine as a safety measure. Nothing wrong with that, at least for now, it sounds like a genuine action, right? Well, the thing is, there were some employees who, when asked for exemptions on account of their religion, were refused by the management; the time for such rejections was from September 2021 to May 2022, as per the EEOC.
And?
But the thing is, during all this, Mercyhealth didn’t back down with their requirements; instead, they just went on to give their employees two options, and that’s all. Like, they were allowed to either get the vaccine or support the deduction of their salary by $60 each month, labeling it as “vaccine incentive charge” and keeping the same work conditions. But in any case where an employee would turn down both the choices, they’d be removed right away. That’s how it was playing out back then.
What Did The EEOC Complaints Say About Mercyhealth?
Well, you’d agree to the fact that from the very start, a lot of the workforce saw the policy as a hurdle for those who have faith-based objections.
As we mentioned it earlier, just like that, employees went to the EEOC with the charge of religious discrimination. And when that complaint went under investigation, it came out that Mercyhealth had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For those who know little to nothing about it for now, see the provision of the Act that is most relevant here is the one that requires employers to reasonably accommodate the religious beliefs of employees, unless the accommodation causes the employer to experience undue hardship.
What Did The EEOC Investigation Find?
Going more into the specifics of the investigation launched, see, they kinda found a pattern of inconsistencies in the way exemption requests were handled. The inspection was concerned with the events from September 2021 to May 2022.
No doubt, from the very start, the report pointed out that not granting the religious exemption requests, along with making vaccination or wage deduction as a condition for continued employment, were against the law. So when the settlement happened in this case, that was a big win for the employees and to cover up their losses.
The Settlement Details In The Mercyhealth EEOC Case
So far, yup, we have only talked about how bad it went with those actions of MercyHealth, but you should know that this case is now settled for good.
It should be recalled that the biggest part of the deal was that Mercyhealth would pay more than a million dollars in back pay plus compensatory damages to the affected employees. And? Did it happen? Yes, it did, and other than that, the settlement pact is also about the provision for reemployment for employees who were disciplined with the policy.