EEOC accuses Advocate Aurora of religious discrimination over nurse’s COVID-19 vaccine refusal

Advocate Aurora Health violated federal law when it fired a nurse for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charges in a lawsuit filed Thursday.

The nurse had refused the vaccine due to her religious beliefs.

“We are confident that our pandemic response was consistent with all applicable laws and regulations. It is also important to note that the allegations in this complaint stem from 2021 policies in place during the height of the pandemic that have since changed with the evolving times,” a spokesman for the company said via email, when comment was requested.

“Out of respect for the legal process, we do not have any further comment at this time.”

The EEOC charges that in 2021, Advocate Aurora Health implemented a policy requiring all employees receive a COVID-19 vaccination unless they were granted an exemption because of their religious beliefs.

Advocate Aurora had previously granted the nurse a lifetime religious exemption from receiving influenza and pertussis vaccines, but denied her request for an exemption to the COVID-19 vaccination, according to the EEOC.

The nurse is not named in the lawsuit, nor does it state at which facility she worked.

The lawsuit states she is a Christian who believes the Bible designates clean and unclean animals, and she follows a biblical teaching that people should not put unclean animals into their bodies. It does not explain the connection between the vaccine and unclean animals.

The lawsuit says that the health system denied her exemption application on the grounds that her request was missing sincere religious belief. She appealed the decision and provided a statement further describing her religious beliefs, but the health system rejected the appeal, saying that the nurse’s objection was based on statements about vaccine safety and efficacy, the lawsuit states.

The EEOC says Advocate Aurora violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

The EEOC tried to settle the dispute through its administrative conciliation process, according to its news release.

The lawsuit seeks back pay and punitive damages, as well as a permanent injunction prohibiting Advocate Aurora from engaging in employment practices that discriminate because of religion.

Advocate Aurora, which was based in Illinois, is now part of Advocate Health Care. Advocate Health Care is based in North Carolina.

The Illinois division operates 11 hospitals and about 200 other care sites, according to Advocate Health Care’s 2025 annual report.