Lisa Domski Catholic worker fired for refusing COVID vaccine jab wins $12.7m religious discrimination lawsuit against former employer, Blue Cross Blue Shield.
A Catholic woman from Michigan has been awarded a $13 million payout after filing a discrimination lawsuit against her former employer who she claimed had unfairly fired her in 2022 for refusing to follow her company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate as it was against her religion.
Lisa Domski, an IT specialist for the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM), had worked for the company for a combined total of nearly 40 years before the non-profit sacked her for after she refused to get the jab.
BCBSM implemented a mandatory vaccination policy for its employees in Oct. 2021, requiring all staff to be fully vaccinated from COVID-19 unless they apply for religious or medical accommodations.
Catholic worker fired despite fulfilling company mandate
The company gave all employees until Dec. 8, 2021, to adhere to the mandate.
Despite following the appropriate channels provided by BCBSM for employees to file for a religious exemption, Domski’s request was denied, according to a discrimination lawsuit initially obtained by the Epoch Times.
Domski, a devoted Catholic from Wyandotte, Michigan, declined the shots because she believed the vaccines that were in circulation at the time were either tested or developed using fetal cells that were obtained from abortions, the Catholic Herald reported.
After denying the request, BCBSM allegedly threatened the longtime employee with termination if she didn’t comply with the mandate.
Domski who continued to refuse to get the shot was ultimately fired on Jan. 5, 2022, following a nearly month-long unpaid leave of absence, according to the suit filed in the US District Court of Eastern Michigan in Aug. 2023.
She was among nearly 250 employees fired by the company after requesting a religious exemption to the mandate.
The company claimed in court filings that Domski lacked a sincerely held religious belief.
The right to religious freedom and employers mandated to respect worker’s faith
Domski had transitioned to a full-time remote worker during the pandemic and had already been working 75% of her job from home before the pandemic hit in 2020.
The company claimed to have been unaware of Domski’s religion despite her petition containing the contact information for her priest and parish.
BCBSM conducted a series of interviews for all the employees that had requested exemptions from the mandate but the process was ‘arbitrary and woefully inconsistent,’ according to the suit.
Domski’s lawyer questioned the reason for mandating a fully remote worker to be vaccinated despite customers or contractors on the premises needing the vaccine.
‘This was a woman who was working from home in her basement office who wasn’t a threat to anybody and was completely fulfilling all of her job obligations for 38 years,’ attorney, Jon Marko told Fox News.
‘They made up their minds that they were going to discriminate against people who had sincerely held religious beliefs,’ he added.
A jury in Detroit federal court found in favor of Domski and awarded her $12.69 million in total damages.
Of the nearly $13 million received, $10 million was marked as ‘punitive damages,’ nearly $1.7 million for lost pay and another $1 million in non economic damages.
After the verdict, Marko spoke on behalf of Domski, telling reporters: ‘Lisa refused to renounce her faith and beliefs and was wrongfully terminated from the only job she had ever known.
‘The jury’s verdict today tells BCBSM that religious discrimination has no place in America and affirms each person’s right to religious freedom.’
BCBSM denied any discrimination against Domski and were looking into options to appeal following the verdict.
‘While Blue Cross respects the jury process and thanks the individual jurors for their service, we are disappointed in the verdict,’ the health insurer said. ‘Blue Cross is reviewing its legal options and will determine its path forward in the coming days.’
Marko on his Facebook page called the court verdict a ‘major victory’ that ‘sets a powerful precedent as similar suits continue to emerge nationwide.’
Marko is representing 170 others in separate wrongful termination cases who are taking similar action against Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan over the 2021 vaccine mandate.
