Furniture Company Settles Religious Bias Suit Over Covid Vaccine

Hank’s Furniture Inc. (HFI), a nationwide furniture retailer, will pay $110,000 and furnish other relief to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit claiming management summarily denied an employee’s request to decline a Covid-19 vaccine, the EEOC said Thursday.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said a former assistant manager at HFI’s Pensacola, Fla., location notified the company that her religious beliefs prevented her from receiving a Covid vaccine. Rather than discuss the employee’s religious beliefs to determine the feasibility of an accommodation, management ignored the request and attempted to dispute the validity of her sincerely-held religious beliefs.

Such alleged conduct violated ...