Last month, two former ESPN employees filed a joint federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Connecticut against ESPN and its parent company, The Walt Disney Company. The employees allege ESPN’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate violated their religious beliefs when they were fired in late 2021 for not getting the vaccination despite asking for an accommodation for their “sincerely held religious beliefs.” One of the employees had also asked for a medical accommodation from the mandate based on disability but was denied.
Companies can require that employees receive COVID vaccinations to work in the workplace, but such a policy can’t be without exception. If an employee asks for a pass on the mandate – or other workplace rule – as a medical or religious accommodation, the employer must go through the “interactive process” with the employee to see if there is any reasonable accommodation that would allow the employee to perform the essential functions of his/her/their job without undue hardship to the employer. Here, that means looking to see if there’s a way for the employees to perform the essential functions of their jobs without being vaccinated and without undue hardship to ESPN. The employees allege that process didn’t happen.
The lawsuit contains 14 counts, including for religious discrimination, hostile work environment based on religion, retaliation, disability discrimination, and other causes of action. The employees seek front and back pay; compensatory damages, including for emotional pain and suffering; reputational damages; punitive damages; pre- and post-judgment interest; attorneys’ fees and costs; and “such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.”
Faber v. ESPN Productions, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-00041 (D. Conn. Jan. 11, 2023)
What this means to you:
Although employees must meet certain legal requirements to be eligible for a medical or religious accommodation, courts tend to focus on whether the employer engaged in the “interactive process.”
Make sure your decision-makers understand what they can and cannot consider with respect to employment decisions. To learn about our Managing Within the Law program or to book a workshop, please call 800-458-2778 or email us.
Updated 02-10-2023
Information here is correct at the time it is posted. Case decisions cited here may be reversed. Please do not rely on this information without consulting an attorney first.
