![]() If, after reviewing the entity’s notice, the Comptroller finds that compliance with a provision of Chapter 2 or 6 of Title 14 would result in a loss of federal funding, the Comptroller shall notify the private business, governmental entity, school, or employer in writing of its exemption. Read more about that here.Pursuant to Public Chapter 6 of the 2021 Third Extraordinary Session, a private business, governmental entity, school, or employer may seek an exemption from the provisions of Chapter 2 or 6 of Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 14 by submitting notice in writing to the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury that compliance with such provisions would result in a loss of federal funding, to the extent such an exemption is necessary to conform to federally awarded or amended contracts, subcontracts, or postsecondary grants as a condition to receipt of federal funds . Back in June, an appeals court ruled the insurer wrongly fired a worker for sharing her concerns about the vaccine mandate with state lawmakers. This is not the first lawsuit BCBST is facing over this issue. We're waiting to hear back, and we'll update our story if and when we do. We followed up with the spokeswoman to ask if the claim that all requests for vaccine exemption on religious grounds in the company were denied. We appreciate our former employees’ service to our members and communities throughout their time with BlueCross.” Because we serve federally funded programs, our decision was also consistent with the latest guidance requiring our employees to be vaccinated. The vaccine requirement was the best decision for the health and safety of our employees, our members – some of whom are the most vulnerable in the state – and our communities. ![]() The 3 plaintiffs were ultimately fired for not complying with the mandate.Ī spokeswoman told us via email, “We do not comment on pending or ongoing litigation, but we are confident that the court will make the right decision in resolving this dispute. Plaintiff Heather Click additionally believes that the vaccine causes the body to create proteins God did not intend the body to create, which is in itself a form of disobedience to God.īut the lawsuit says However, as to each and every employee who requested accommodation on religious grounds, Defendant denied the accommodation.Indeed, Defendant instituted a pattern and practice of denying religious accommodations to the entire class of those who requested accommodations based on their sincerely held religious beliefs, irrespective of such person’s position, accommodations requested, religion practiced, or any other differentiating factor. 'They believe a Christian’s body being surrendered to God is a form of spiritual worship. ![]() In each of their respective accommodation requests, Plaintiffs explained their belief that the COVID-19 vaccines-as well as other vaccines-were developed (either directly or through testing) using fetal cell lines derived from aborted fetal tissue and that it would be sinful to interject such products into their bodies,' the lawsuit says. All employees were given 6 weeks to either comply and get the shot, or request an exemption. In August of 2021, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) announced a company-wide vaccine mandate. The plaintiffs are James Abernathy of Davidson County, Tennessee, Heather Click of Sullivan County, Tennessee and Kerrie Ingle of Soddy-Daisy. In a federal lawsuit, 3 former employees of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee claim the insurer violated their civil rights when firing them after they were denied a religious exemption from the company's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. ![]()
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