TENNESSEE WOMAN AWARDED $700K AFTER BEING FIRED FOR REFUSING VACCINE
A Tennessee scientist who was fired from her job because she refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine over religious grounds has been awarded almost $700,000 in a landmark settlement.
Tanja Benton, 52, was sacked by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BSBST) in November 2022, at a time when many companies were mandating staff receive the vaccine to go back to work following the pandemic.
She claimed in a lawsuit that she could not 'in good conscience' get the vaccine because of her religious opposition to abortion, and said that 'based upon personal research, all COVID-19 vaccines are derived from aborted fetus cell lines.'
A federal jury found that her refusal was based on 'sincerely held religious beliefs', and awarded her the sum in a settlement first obtained by WTVC.
Benton, who worked as a bio statistical research scientist at BSBST from 2005 until she was fired in November 2022, was awarded a total of $687,000 in her settlement.
This broke down to over $177,000 in back pay following her sacking, $10,000 in compensatory damages, and $500,000 in punitive damages.
In her lawsuit, the 52-year-old noted that she did not come into regular contact with other staffers during her day-to-day role, and never interacted with hospital patients.
She said that when the pandemic hit, she worked from home for a year and a half, and had no issues with BCBST's policies until they introduced a vaccine mandate.
When she was faced with either getting the jab or losing her job, Benton refused, arguing that doing so 'would not only defile her body but also anger and dishonor God.'
Benton's claim that 'all COVID-19 vaccines are derived from aborted fetus cell lines' is not strictly accurate, however they were used in the development phase of some of the vaccines.
While COVID-19 vaccines themselves do not contain any aborted fetal cells, testing during the research phase of the mRNA vaccines - and during the production of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine - did use fetal cell lines.
Fetal cell lines are cells grown in a laboratory based on aborted fetal cells that were collected generations ago, per Nebraska Medicine, but they are not actually contained in any of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Benton said she submitted a request for a religious exemption, which was denied by the company as it told her that she would be let go unless she complied.
The company also allegedly told her that there were no vaccine exemptions for anyone with her job title, and suggested that she looked for another job.
In a statement to WTVC, the company said: 'The vaccine requirement was the best decision for the health and safety of our employees and members – some of whom are the most vulnerable in the state - and our communities.
'We appreciate our former employees’ service to our members and communities throughout their time with BlueCross.'
Dalya Qualls White, the company's senior vice president and chief communications officer, added to The Chattanoogan that BCBST was 'disappointed by the decision.'
The outlet reported that a number of other terminated BlueCross staffers have also filed a class action lawsuit against the company on similar complaints.
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