Her refusal ‘was based upon a sincerely held religious belief’
In a landmark decision, a federal jury has ordered Blue Cross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) to pay nearly $700,000 to Tanja Benton, a former employee who was terminated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine based on her religious beliefs.
Benton, who served as a Bio Statistical Research Scientist, asserts that her role involved minimal client interaction and no necessity for physical presence at medical facilities.
Throughout her 16-year tenure, Benton primarily worked independently and remotely, especially during the pandemic, when she executed her duties without issue from March 2020 to November 2021. Despite this, BCBST enforced a company-wide vaccine mandate in August 2021, requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated as a condition of continued employment.
Benton, guided by her deeply held religious beliefs, refused the vaccine, citing her objection to the use of aborted fetus cell lines in vaccine development. Recall that unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was partially developed using cell lines derived from an aborted human fetus.
Awesome to read
Down with the woke agenda