St. Thomas Health being Sued by Former Employee

A former employee of an area hospital is suing his former employer. The suit says that St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital forced him to take a flu shot even though it contradicted the worker’s religious beliefs.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit September 28, 2018.
WTVF-TV reports that the suit claims St. Thomas Health (STH) required all workers at the hospital to have an annual flu shot, including employees of TouchPoint Support Services, which provides food and environmental services at the hospital.
The lawsuit says that STH allowed a TouchPoint employee, because of his religious beliefs, to wear a protective mask instead of having a flu shot in 2013 and 2014. When this employee asked again in 2015 not to have a flu shot, the request was denied. When this employee refused to take a flu shot, he was told he could no longer work at the hospital.
The EEOC argues in the suit that STH’s actions violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.