One year ago today, my husband, along with a group of 40 others, was fired from BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Between October and November 2021, BCBST terminated 41 of their employees after BCBST implemented a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for 900 "customer facing roles." Many of these 900 employees who were not "customer facing" were full time telecommuters and had been working from home during the entire pandemic. The livelihoods of these 900 employees were threatened if they refused to comply with BCBST's vaccine mandate. Out of the 900, 41 refused to comply with BCBST’s mandate and were fired from their positions.
In October 2021, 19 employees were terminated. In November 2021, 21additional employees were fired weeks ahead of a Tennessee law being passed to prevent BCBST from moving forward with the mandate. Many submitted requests for religious exemptions and reasonable accommodations. Rather than provide a reasonable accommodation such as a telecommuting option (an option that was currently in place and was continuing for the entire year) or a testing option, BCBST's response was that you have 30 days to change your religious beliefs and get the shot, find a new job, or be fired. Religious exemptions were ignored.
One former BCBST employee from the group, Anne Frase, describes her experience over the last year:
“This last year has been very hard both emotionally and financially. I loved my position, planned on retiring from BCBST and to be discriminated against, my exemption request not accepted, and fired for this has been devastating. I’m almost 62 years old and it has been difficult for me to find another job.”
Another former employee from the group, Kerrie I., described being terminated:
“I was a top performer dedicated to the mission of BCBST and the work of my team,” she said. “To be cast aside and treated as less than was, simply put, a slap in the face. BCBST’s decision to fire us affected me emotionally, to a point where I had experienced a crisis of faith and even questioned my self-worth.”
Patricia P., also a former employee, states:
“I still do not have a job. I had a few interviews at first, but when the prospective employer found that I had been terminated, they either declined or did not call back. After a few months, I stopped getting calls.”
Many others among the group share these sentiments, some having been with BCBST for nearly two decades. None received any severance pay.
When asked about the news of the reinstatement of New York workers fired for the mandate, one former BCBST employee says:
“I’m glad something is being done, but remain empathetic of those families. It’s nothing until it’s something. It’s a positive move in the right direction, but I am still cautious until you see something actually happen for those people and their families. It has to go through the courts and of course there will be an appeals process. I see it, but I don’t get my hopes up.”
These former BCBST employees were fired over a vaccine mandate that is proving, with time, to be an increasingly unpopular and unjustified decision. Evidence continues to mount in the court of public opinion, as well as in the legal courts, that these decisions were reckless and irresponsible, and highly politicized in the name of profit, personal gain, and selfish agendas.
This vaccine campaign is the biggest social experiment in our lifetime and these employees, along with many others who did not comply, are being vindicated more and more with each passing day. The mRNA shot is experimental and lives and livelihoods were the guinea pigs. From Fauci’s beagles (used for other experimental testing) to eight mice to grandma and your babies. But – “the science.”
The BCBST employees have obtained legal representation and are now moving forward to fight their unlawful termination. A spokesman for the employees says their group reported their individual cases to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) after termination from BCBST. Since November 2021, the EEOC has been reviewing the alleged Title VII violation(s) and is currently considering grouping the alleged violation(s) of BCBST as a single action.
Holly Abernathy