A federal jury has ordered Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to pay nearly $13 million in damages to a former employee who said she was wrongfully terminated for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
On Nov. 8, a jury awarded Lisa Domski, a former IT specialist at BCBS Michigan, $10 million in punitive damages, $315,000 in back pay, $1.3 million in front pay and $1 million for noneconomic damages.
Ms. Domski requested an exemption from the vaccine on the basis of her religious beliefs, which was denied by BCBS Michigan, according to court documents filed in August 2023.
John Marko, an attorney representing Ms. Domski, told CBS News Detroit that Ms. Domski is a devout Catholic and provided BCBS Michigan with a written statement explaining her beliefs and the contact information for her priest.
BCBS Michigan implemented a policy requiring all employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or to obtain a religious or medical exemption, a spokesperson said in a statement shared with Becker's.
"In implementing the vaccine policy, Blue Cross designed an accommodation process that complied with state and federal law and respected the sincerely held religious beliefs of its employees," the spokesperson said. "While Blue Cross respects the jury process and thanks the individual jurors for their service, we are disappointed in the verdict. Blue Cross is reviewing its legal options and will determine its path forward in the coming days."
Other insurers have faced legal challenges over COVID-19 vaccination policies. In 2021, a jury awarded a former BCBS Tennessee employee nearly $700,000 after she proved that her refusal to get vaccinated was based upon a sincerely held religious belief and BCBS did not prove that it had offered a reasonable accommodation to her. A related class action lawsuit is ongoing.
In September 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued UnitedHealthcare over allegations the company discriminated against a fully remote employee by refusing to grant her a religious exemption from the company's COVID-19 vaccination requirement.