Hospital employees who refused Covid vaccines sue CHOMP for religious discrimination.

A promised lawsuit from 36 hospital employees of the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula who refused to take the Covid-19 vaccine on religious grounds was filed on Monday, Nov. 29 in Monterey County Superior Court, two months after a vaccine mandate deadline passed on Oct. 1.

At the time, officials at Montage Health, CHOMP's parent company, said they believed three doctors and five employees had resigned due to the mandate, leaving nearly 60 employees on Oct. 1 who were refusing to be vaccinated, out of a workforce of approximately 2,800 employees. The vaccination rate on that date was 97.5 percent, 100 percent among in-person workers.

As an accommodation, those employees were offered a six-month leave of absence, with their jobs protected for three months. Some chose to begin the process of becoming fully vaccinated so they could return.

The lawsuit accuses CHOMP of "blanket discrimination" against the 36 employees named for not accepting their religious exemption claims and not providing ways to continue working at their jobs through regular testing and the wearing of personal protective equipment, according to court documents. 

The suit, filed by the Santa Ana law firm of Watkins & Letofsky—which is  representing other groups of employees in similar suits, including a group of Los Angeles Police officers—also accuses CHOMP officials of harassment, retaliation and wrongful discharge.

In a written statement from Montage Health, CHOMP's parent company, officials said it "was and is imperative that 100 percent of our staff working at our facilities are fully vaccinated to ensure the highest level of protection for our patients, our workers and our community." They also stated that with new variants like omicron emerging, "it remains even more critical that we ensure the safest possible environment for our patients and staff."

Montage officials noted that even though the lawsuit identifies the employees as "former" employees, many are still employed and on a leave of absence as an accommodation. They also said they did grant religious exemptions to five employees and one doctor who met the criteria. They had to be able to work 100-percent remotely so as not to "present an undue hardship to patients and coworkers."

In the lawsuit, the attorneys call Montage's claim of "undue hardship is nothing more than veiled discrimination."

The suit also takes issue with the hospital over the need for vaccinations when there is evidence that vaccinated people may pass the infection onto others. 

The employees' attorneys also argue that the hospital "completely failed to address the sincerity of religious beliefs presented by the employees with their requests for exemption," as outlined in the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.

The lawsuit argues that part of the employees' religious beliefs is to reject the vaccine because they contend all three vaccines were developed using aborted fetal cell lines. (The cells are clones from cell lines that date back to the 1970s and 1980s, and not the original tissue.) 

Although there are some individual churches and sects that are rejecting the vaccines, no major religions are endorsing exemptions. The Catholic Church has stated its members have a moral obligation to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as a way to protect the community. 

Anticipating that argument, the lawsuit states that "while there may be some faith leaders and other adherents who belief of scripture is different...any CHOMP employee is entitle dot interpret the scriptural commands differently."

The lawsuit asks for any financial losses suffered by the employees, compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys fees, court costs and "such further relief as the court may deem just and proper."