The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on March 27, claiming Silver Cross Hospital terminated a certified surgical technologist in November 2021 after denying her religious accommodation request regarding the facility's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The employee had sought the accommodation in August 2021 based on her Christian beliefs, according to the complaint.
"Workplace rules like vaccination requirements—while not inherently discriminatory—must adhere to Title VII's protections for religious accommodation," said Catherine Eschbach, acting general counsel for the EEOC. "These protections are a core safeguard of federal civil rights law. Where an accommodation can be provided without undue hardship, the law requires it. Unfortunately, that did not occur in this case."
The EEOC alleges the hospital could have accommodated the employee without undue hardship but instead chose to terminate her employment. The commission seeks monetary damages including compensatory and punitive damages for the employee, along with injunctive relief to prevent future violations of federal employment discrimination law.
The lawsuit represents part of ongoing EEOC enforcement around religious accommodations in healthcare settings, particularly regarding COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The commission has filed similar suits against other healthcare providers including Advocate Aurora Health and has been actively pursuing cases involving religious discrimination claims that arose during the pandemic.
The EEOC filed the lawsuit (EEOC v. Silver Cross Hospital, Civil Action No. 1:26-cv-3343) after attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process failed. The Chicago District Office, which handles cases across Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and North and South Dakota, is prosecuting the matter.
The case highlights the continuing legal challenges healthcare employers face in balancing workplace safety requirements with federal civil rights protections, particularly as courts and agencies continue to interpret the scope of religious accommodation obligations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.