Tuesday, February 18, 2020

3rd Circuit: Employee's Flu Vaccine Objections Were Not Religious

In Brown v. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, (3rd Cir., Feb. 14, 2020), the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a religious discrimination claim brought by a hospital employee who was fired for refusing to obtain a flu vaccination.  The court held that Naija Brown's objections were not "religious". She practiced an "African Holistic Heath" lifestyle. She claimed that while she did not have a pastor to validate her beliefs, she filed an "advance vaccine directive" prepared by Natural Solutions Foundation. The court concluded that her opposition to the vaccine were medical, not religious. PennLive reports on the decision.