Health care workers who were fired over their hospitals’ COVID-19 policies have been awarded $10 million in the first-ever class action lawsuit against vaccine mandates in the United States.
Nonprofit religious liberty organization Liberty Counsel successfully reached an agreement with health care providers over the lawsuit.
Illinois health care workers, who were impacted by their hospitals’ vaccine mandate, filed a lawsuit challenging the rule.
After agreeing to settle the class-action suit, Illinois’ NorthShore University HealthSystem will now pay compensation to those who they fired or otherwise impacted for being unvaccinated.
The case centers around workers at NorthShore University HealthSystem, who filed a lawsuit in October 2021 claiming their employer illegally refused to grant any religious exemptions to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, Fox Business reported.
The settlement approved in the Illinois Northern District Court will result in 473 employees of the system becoming eligible for compensation for being denied a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate.
Any of those fired as a result of the rules are eligible for $25,000 each.
The 13 plaintiffs involved in the suit will be eligible for an additional $20,000.
Meanwhile, those who complied with the mandate to keep their jobs, despite having religious objections, will be eligible for $3,000.
Anyone fired because of their refusal to get the jab will also be eligible for reemployment in the system.
“This settlement is the first in the nation and should serve as a strong warning to employers that thought they could violate longstanding Title VII religious freedom laws,” Liberty Counsel founder and chairman, Mat Staver, said in a statement.