A Tennessee federal court has upheld a jury’s verdict in favor of former BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) employee Tanja Benton in a religious discrimination lawsuit over the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
US District Judge Charles Atchley Jr. issued a final ruling on Jan. 31, ordering BCBST to pay Benton $502,380.65 in damages.
The decision follows a jury award in June 2024, in which Benton was granted $687,240.00 after the jury found that BCBST “did not prove by a preponderance of the evidence either that it had offered a reasonable accommodation to Plaintiff or that it could not reasonably accommodate the Plaintiff’s religious beliefs without undue hardship.”
The original jury award included $177,240.00 in back pay, $10,000 in compensatory damages, and $500,000 in punitive damages.
BCBST later filed a Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law, seeking to overturn the jury’s decision and reduce the damages. Judge Atchley denied the motion but adjusted the punitive damages award, reducing it from $500,000 to $300,000 in accordance with federal statutory caps for employers with more than 500 employees.
The court’s final award includes back pay, compensatory damages, and the revised punitive damages amount.
Kennedys Law notes that the court’s ruling affirms the jury’s finding that Benton’s refusal of the COVID-19 vaccine was based on sincerely held religious beliefs. The decision also underscores the legal standards surrounding religious accommodation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
In a separate but related case, a group of former BCBST employees has filed a class action lawsuit against the insurer, alleging religious discrimination related to the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
According to the group’s spokesperson, the lawsuit follows an investigation by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which began in November 2021. The litigation challenges the termination of employees who declined the vaccine based on religious objections.
Between October and November 2021, BCBST terminated 41 employees after implementing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for 900 customer-facing roles. Many of the affected employees had been working remotely during the pandemic and requested religious exemptions.
Kennedys Law notes that while Title VII requires employers to consider reasonable accommodations for religious beliefs, the plaintiffs argue that BCBST denied such accommodations and instead issued an ultimatum to employees who refused the vaccine.
Nineteen employees were terminated in October 2021, with an additional 22 dismissed in November, weeks before a Tennessee law went into effect prohibiting BCBST from enforcing the mandate.
The lawsuit alleges that rather than offering alternatives such as telecommuting or regular testing, the company informed employees they had 30 days to either comply with the mandate, find other employment, or face termination.
The Benton ruling comes shortly after an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, reinstating military service members who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.
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