Michigan Hospital Pays $410,000 to Settle Firing Suit Over Transgender Policy Refusal
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 31
Michigan Hospital Pays $410,000 to Settle Firing Suit Over Transgender Policy Refusal
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 31
Summary
$410,000 will be paid by University of Michigan Health-West to settle a physician assistant's lawsuit over her 2021 firing after she refused, on religious grounds, to comply with transgender-related workplace policies.
Valerie Kloosterman said she sought a religious accommodation from mandatory gender-identity training and was terminated three weeks later, despite positive performance reviews, after the hospital allegedly made no effort to accommodate her beliefs.
The 2022 lawsuit also alleged hospital officials disparaged her faith, called her "evil" and a "liar," and told her she could not bring her Christian beliefs into the workplace.
The settlement requires UM Health-West to adopt a legally compliant religious-accommodation policy, train employees, and provide accommodations without retaliation, extending the case beyond damages to workplace policy changes.
How will a $410,000 settlement over a fired healthcare worker reshape the way hospitals handle religious objections to gender identity policies?
Could the Justice Department's intervention in New York trigger a nationwide legal showdown over mandatory gender identity training in religious workplaces?