Transit Workers Denied Religious Exemptions for COVID-19 Shots Each Awarded $1.3 Million
Half a dozen transit workers in the California Bay area who were fired for refusing to take COVID-19 shots were awarded approximately $1.3 million dollars each by a federal jury.1 The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) employees filed a class action suit in October 2022 after they were denied religious exemptions and or accommodations when […]
Court Orders Store to Pay $110,000 to Employee Fired for Refusing COVID Shots
In 2021, an Arkansas-based furniture retailer Hank’s Fine Furniture, Inc. with 18 branch stores in four states, violated U.S. federal law by denying a religious exemption to Florida assistant store manager Kaitlyn M. O’Neal for her religious beliefs opposed to getting COVID-19 shots. O’Neal was terminated from her position because she refused to comply with the company’s COVID […]
Appellate Court Tosses Out 1,200 Shingles Vaccine Injury Lawsuits Against Merck
The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed approximately 1,200 lawsuits filed against Merck & Co. over its shingles vaccine, Zostavax. The Appellate Court upheld a U.S. District Court ruling that threw out the lawsuits for failing to abide by a court order requiring them to provide clinical test results.1 Zostavax, the first shingles vaccine […]
Tennessee Employee Awarded Punitive Damages After Being Fired for COVID Shot Refusal
A jury awarded a settlement of $687,240 to a woman in Tennessee who was fired from her job at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee (BCBST) for refusing to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Of the total amount, $500,000 was for punitive damages levied against BCBST.1 Tanja Benton, who worked as a biostatistical research […]
Pfizer Sued for Misleading Claims About Its COVID Shot
The State of Kansas has sued Pfizer, Inc. over its mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) COVID-19 shot, Comirnaty. Kansas attorney general Kris Kobach alleges that the pharmaceutical giant labeled and marketed the novel biologic as, “safe and effective,” while knowing that the product could cause, “serious adverse events,” including myocarditis and pericarditis, failed pregnancies and death.”1 Texas […]
Court Revives COVID Shot Mandate Lawsuit Against LA School District
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit filed by employees of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) who argued that the school system’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate violated their constitutional and other rights. The Appellate Court vacated the lower court ruling in a 2-1 decision and remanded the case back to the […]
