T-Mobile Vax Mandate Violated Worker's Rights, Suit Says
By Grace Elletson · Aug 24, 2022, 12:47 PM EDT · Listen to article
T-Mobile discriminated and retaliated against a worker when it fired him for failing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine despite his contention that the immunization violated his religious beliefs, according to a lawsuit filed in Michigan federal court.
Troy Bass sued his former employer Tuesday, alleging T-Mobile USA Inc. violated Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act by failing to grant him a religious accommodation when it mandated that all its employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
"Plaintiff found himself in the horrible position of having to choose between faith and his job," the suit said.
Bass said he was hired by T-Mobile as a small-business account representative in September 2019. The company later required that all employees become vaccinated against COVID-19 and in September 2021, Bass said, he submitted a request for a religious accommodation.
In his request, Bass said that as a practicing Catholic he believes God granted him with an intellect that "is directed toward what is true, and a will, which is directed toward what is good." Bass said a mandate requiring him to become vaccinated impeded his free will and intellect.
The company's accommodations team told Bass he would hear back on its decision in a few weeks, but five months later he learned through his manager that the accommodation had been denied, according to the suit. While his accommodation was being processed, Bass said his co-workers made discriminatory comments toward him, saying "Dude, just get jabbed" and "Man Up. Get jabbed. Keep your job."
When Bass was told in February 2022 that his accommodation was denied, he said, the company warned that if he did not get vaccinated he would lose his job by April 2. He said he was placed on unpaid leave on Feb. 15, and he requested that the company allow him to work remotely and expense rapid COVID-19 test kits that he could take before he had to meet with clients in person.
The request was denied, and Bass was fired on April 2, according to the suit.
Bass said the company never explained why his request for an accommodation had been denied given that he successfully had worked remotely since early 2020, when the pandemic began. He also said the company did not engage in an interactive process about the accommodation to reach a resolution.
He also said the company violated U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance on religious exemptions for employer vaccine mandates under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Bass said he filed a complaint with the EEOC and plans to amend his lawsuit to include violations of Title VII when he receives a right to sue letter.
The commission said that unvaccinated workers could be required to wear masks or be periodically tested and that employers should explain to workers why their accommodation has been denied, according to the suit. Bass also said T-Mobile was not faced with any undue hardship to justify denying his accommodation.
Noah Hurwitz, who represents Bass, told Law360 on Wednesday that employers can impose vaccine mandates but can't violate Title VII protections when workers request religious accommodations.
"This is a situation where T-Mobile had no uniform plan on how to handle unvaccinated employees and instead adopted an arbitrary and inconsistent decision-making process," Hurwitz said.
A representative of T-Mobile did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Bass is represented by Noah Hurwitz and Brendan J. Childress of Hurwitz Law PLLC.
Counsel information for T-Mobile was not available.
The case is Bass v. T-Mobile USA Inc., case number 2:22-cv-11975, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.