Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Partner Bradley Faber and Senior Counsel Jennifer Abdo secured the dismissal of a religious discrimination claim against the firm’s client, a global service organization, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The plaintiff, a former employee of the service organization, requested a religious accommodation exempting her from her employer’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement under its return-to-work policy. As part of the accommodation process, the employer required the plaintiff to provide explanation or detail that identified what sincerely held religious belief she held which precluded her from complying with the employer’s return-to-work policy. When the plaintiff declined to provide that information with any detail, the employer denied her request and subsequently terminated her employment.
The plaintiff claimed that the employer violated her rights when she was terminated for failing to comply with the return-to-work policy. The court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant, concluding that the plaintiff failed to sufficiently articulate the religious basis for her requested accommodation. According to the judge, the plaintiff’s refusal to receive the vaccine was rooted in medical concerns rather than religious beliefs.
The dismissal highlights GRSM’s strength in defending employers facing complex religious accommodation and workplace policy disputes, including those arising from COVID-19 return-to-work requirements.