Integra LifeSciences Axes Workers’ Vaccine Religious Bias Row

Integra LifeSciences Corp. defeated a proposed class action alleging it discriminated against religious workers when it refused their Covid-19 vaccine mandate exemption requests and withheld a portion of unvaccinated employees’ pay.

The worker who filed the suit failed to exhaust her administrative remedies for her federal claims, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey said. Even if she had met that requirement, she didn’t adequately allege a sincerely held religious belief motivated her vaccine opposition.

The case is one of many challenging employers’ Covid-19 vaccination mandates—and the consequences workers faced for flouting them—on religious grounds. The ...