July 1, 2024 at 6:06 p.mA Tennessee jury has awarded a former research scientist at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee $687,000 in back pay and damages after she was fired in 2021 for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine.Following a three-day jury trial in Chattanooga last week, a federal jury decided BlueCross failed to provide reasonable accommodation for Tanja Benton, who did most of her work from home and claimed a religious exemption to the company’s vaccine mandate.Chattanooga Attorney Doug S. Hamill, who represents Benton, said the biostatistical research scientist was fired in November 2021 in violation of her religious beliefs after working for the Chattanooga-based health insurer for nearly six and a half years. Benton said she believed the COVID-19 vaccines are derived from aborted fetus cell lines.”Because of her sincerely held religious beliefs concerning abortion, (Benton) cannot in good conscience consume the vaccine, which would not only defile her body but also anger and dishonor God,” Hamill said in his lawsuit against BlueCross.
