Two Former ESPN Employees Sue Over Vaccine Mandate Terminations
Two former ESPN employees are suing the network and its parent company, the Walt Disney Company, over their 2021 terminations. Both employees were fired for refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
Former ESPN reporter Allison Williams and longtime producer Beth Faber claim that the company made “no serious attempt” to accommodate their COVID-19 vaccination exemption requests.
According to the lawsuit, Faber requested an exemption from the company’s vaccine mandate in June of 2021 based on her religious beliefs.
Farber asked for an exemption saying the vaccine goes “AGAINST what God Wants”.
According to the producer, Julie Walden, a senior human resources specialist for the company, told her in a meeting that “maybe God has led you to a new career, when God closes a door, he opens another”.
ESPN denied Farber’s exemption request stating that she didn’t provide “sufficient documentation”. After going back and forth with company executives on the issue, Farber had her contract terminated in September.
Williams on the other hand, argued that the vaccine went against her Christian beliefs. She further stated that she was undergoing in vitro fertilization and was worried about the effects the vaccine would have on a fetus.
Photo: ESPN
A Title VII Violation?
Both plaintiffs accuse ESPN and the Walt Disney Company of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. That title protects employees from discrimination based on their religious beliefs.
“Defendants failed to reasonably accommodate Plaintiffs’ religious beliefs, as required by law, and terminated Plaintiffs under circumstances that were discriminatory in nature,” the lawsuit says.
Photo: ESPN
Both Farber and Williams are seeking punitive damages in their lawsuit against the company. ESPN has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
A Tough Week For Disney
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
Earlier this week, we reported on the news that seven former Disney employees were suing the company over their termination. Although both cases revolve around COVID-19 mandates, there are differences.
The Florida employees based their lawsuits on a Florida law that banned such mandates. It remains to be seen if these cases are handled differently by the courts.
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