Health care system to pay worker who was fired after refusing to get flu shot because of his religion

April 22, 2019 at 7:50 p.m. | Updated April 22, 2019 at 7:50 p.m.

by Associated Press

FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2018, file photo, a nurse prepares a flu shot at the Salvation Army in Atlanta. According to the CDC, flu costs the nation about $7 billion a year in sick days and lost productivity among working-age adults. That's not to mention the heavy toll of hospitalizations and deaths that occur mainly among people 65 and older. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2018, file photo, a nurse prepares a flu shot at the Salvation Army in Atlanta. According to the CDC, flu costs the nation about $7 billion a year in sick days and lost productivity among working-age adults. That's not to mention the heavy toll of hospitalizations and deaths that occur mainly among people 65 and older. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee's leading faith-based health care system is set to pay $75,000 to a worker fired for not getting a required flu shot due to his religion.

News outlets report the settlement also requires that Saint Thomas Health update its policy to ensure employees may appeal denied religious accommodations.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital in October on behalf of the fired employee, a follower of the Moorish Science Temple of America.

All hospital workers are required to have an annual flu shot, and the hospital refused to allow the worker to wear a protective mask in lieu of getting the shot.

The health care system is part of Ascension, the largest nonprofit health system in the country and the world's largest Catholic health system.

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