In a landmark ruling, a federal jury ordered Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee (BCBST) to pay nearly $700,000 to Tanja Benton, a former employee who was fired for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine based on her religious beliefs.
Benton, who worked as a biostatistical research scientist, claims her role involved minimal interaction with clients and no need to go directly to a medical facility.
During his 16-year tenure, Benton worked primarily independently and remotely, and performed his duties without issue, especially during the pandemic from March 2020 to November 2021. Despite this, BCBST implemented a company-wide vaccination mandate in August 2021, requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated to continue working.
Benton refused the vaccine because of her deeply held religious beliefs that oppose the use of aborted fetal cell lines in vaccine development. Remember, unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was developed in part using cell lines derived from aborted human fetuses.
She requested religious accommodations to continue working remotely, but BCBST denied it.
Instead, the company offered her a “safe harbor” period to find another position within the organization that was not subject to the vaccine mandate, an offer Benton argues was insincere and unrealistic.
In her lawsuit, Benton claims BCBST violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Tennessee Human Rights Act by refusing to accommodate her religious beliefs. She claims her firing was wrongful and that the “safe harbor” period was an empty gesture because BCBST expanded its vaccine mandate to all positions shortly after she was fired.
The lawsuit seeks a variety of relief, including back pay, emotional damages, reinstatement or upfront payment in lieu of reinstatement, and punitive damages. Benton also asks the court to issue a temporary injunction ordering BCBST to rehire her without imposing unlawful conditions on her job.
Now, the jury has found that Benton’s refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine was based on genuine religious beliefs. They further concluded that BlueCross failed to provide reasonable accommodations for her religious beliefs and could not demonstrate that providing accommodations would cause an undue hardship to the company.
The jury awarded total damages. 687,240 including Benton $177,240 in unpaid wages damages 10,000 in damages and $500,000 in punitive damages.
The verdict is as follows:
The jury found that plaintiff TANJA BENTON proved by a preponderance of the evidence that her refusal to receive the COVID vaccine was based on her genuine religious beliefs. The parties ruled that the remaining elements of the plaintiff’s claim were satisfied and the jury was so instructed.
The jury also found that defendant BLUECROSS BLUESHIELD OF TENNESSEE, INC. failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that it provided reasonable accommodations to plaintiff or that it could not reasonably accommodate plaintiff's religious beliefs without undue hardship. Accordingly, plaintiff's burden on religious accommodation claims is established by the jury's verdict.
Finally, the jury found that the plaintiff was entitled to punitive damages by a preponderance of the evidence. The jury returned a separate verdict awarding punitive damages. The jury awarded the plaintiff a total of $687,240.00, which included $177,240.00 in undisclosed damages, $10,000.00 in compensatory damages, and $500,000.00 in punitive damages in a separate verdict.
Accordingly, in favor of Plaintiff TANJA BENTON, and against Defendant BLUECROSS BLUESHIELD OF TENNESSEE, INC., damages are awarded in the amount of $687,240.00, with post-judgment interest at the rate set forth in 28 USC § 1961.
It's amazing. A federal jury has ruled that Blue Cross BlueShield of Tennessee must pay $700,000 to an employee who refused to get a COVID vaccine.
Tanja Benton worked as a biostatistical research scientist at BCBS for more than 17 years before being fired for refusing to get vaccinated.… pic.twitter.com/OPRDvaB2Rt
— Robbie Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) July 1, 2024