A Catholic woman who was fired in 2021 by her employer for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine won nearly $13 million in damages, according to a report from Fox News.
Lisa Domski worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan as an IT specialist for 38 years. At the height of the COVID pandemic, the company instituted a vaccine mandate for employees. Domski argued in court that Blue Cross Blue Shield denied her request for an exemption, despite her insistence that the vaccine conflicted with her faith.
The lawyer representing Domski said she posed no threat as she had worked remotely during the pandemic and was on a hybrid arrangement before COVID as well. Lawyers claim Domski was rarely in person and never should’ve been subjected to the mandate.
“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 39 years,” lawyer Jon Marko told Fox News.
Marko said that Domski submitted a written statement to Blue Cross Blue Shield detailing her religious beliefs, and went so far as to attach the contact information of her priest.
The company denied her accommodation request and threatened to terminate her if she failed to comply. After Domski refused, she was fired.
Blue Cross Blue Shield’s stated vaccine policy claims that all employees must be fully inoculated or obtain religious or medical accommodation. Blue Cross Blue Shield argued to the court that Domski’s religious views were not sincere beliefs.
A Detroit jury awarded $10 million in punitive damages, an additional $1.7 million in lost wages, and $1 million in noneconomic damages.
Blue Cross Blue Shield said they are “disappointed in the verdict.”
“Throughout the pandemic, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, together with its employees, worked to promote the health and safety of our colleagues, stakeholders, and communities,” the statement reads. “While Blue Cross respects the jury process and thanks the individual jurors for their service, we are disappointed in the verdict.”
This piece first appeared at TPUSA.
