A federal jury has awarded over $12 million to a long-term employee of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan who was terminated after declining to receive the COVID-19 vaccine due to religious reasons.
The jury in Detroit delivered its verdict on Friday afternoon, ruling that Blue Cross had discriminated against Lisa Domski, a Catholic resident of Wyandotte, by refusing her request for a religious exemption from the company’s vaccine mandate. Domski had sought the exemption based on her “sincerely held religious belief.”
The jury determined that denying her the exemption, referred to as an accommodation, violated both federal and state laws. They awarded Domski a total of 12.69million,whichincludes12.69million,whichincludes315,000 for back pay, 1.375millionforlostfuturewages,1.375millionforlostfuturewages,1 million for noneconomic damages, and $10 million in punitive damages.
Jon Marko, Domski’s attorney from Marko Law in Detroit, stated that her lawsuit was the first of its kind in Michigan to go to trial regarding an employer denying a religious accommodation related to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
A similar case occurred last month in San Francisco, where a federal jury awarded over $1 million each to six Bay Area Rapid Transit workers who also refused the vaccine on religious grounds.

Domski had been employed at Blue Cross for 32 years, most recently in the IT department. Her employment was terminated on January 5, 2022, the deadline for all Blue Cross employees and contractors—including remote workers—to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Domski had requested a religious exemption because she believed the three widely used COVID-19 vaccines at the time—Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson—were developed or tested using fetal cells derived from abortions. She considered it a sin to receive such a vaccine, as she opposes abortion.
“She was working from home, posed no risk to others, and held a sincere religious belief against the vaccine,” Marko told the Free Press on Friday. “What Blue Cross did was evil.”
According to a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services fact sheet, while the initial COVID-19 vaccines did not contain fetal cells, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was developed using fetal cells, and a fetal cell line was used in early testing for the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines.
Blue Cross may appeal the verdict. In a statement released Friday, the insurer said it is reviewing its legal options and will decide its next steps in the coming days.

“Throughout the pandemic, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, alongside its employees, worked to promote the health and safety of our colleagues, stakeholders, and communities,” the statement read. “In October 2021, Blue Cross and its subsidiaries implemented a vaccine policy requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated or obtain a religious or medical accommodation.
“Blue Cross designed an accommodation process that complied with state and federal law and respected employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs. While we respect the jury process and thank the jurors for their service, we are disappointed in the verdict.”
Marko revealed that he represents nearly 180 similar cases against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan or its subsidiaries.
“This verdict sets a precedent for Blue Cross, and it will only get worse for them moving forward,” he said.
Marko, who is also Catholic but chose to get vaccinated, admitted he was initially skeptical about the lawsuit.
“But as I delved into the case and learned how Blue Cross treated these loyal employees, I knew I had to take action,” he said.
Domski’s lawsuit, filed in August 2023 in U.S. District Court in Detroit, accused Blue Cross of violating the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees’ religious beliefs. It also alleged discrimination under Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.
Court documents show that Blue Cross argued Domski’s request did not meet the criteria for a religious exemption. The insurer attempted to interview her in December 2021, but she declined to answer questions, relying instead on a written statement she had submitted.
“My religious belief has always been that abortion is murder and a sin against God,” Domski wrote. “I must consider the moral implications of using vaccines connected to fetal cell lines derived from abortion.”
Domski’s lawsuit also claimed that a senior Blue Cross employee responsible for approving exemptions expressed doubt about the validity of religious accommodation requests.
Blue Cross reportedly rejected 75% of all religious accommodation requests, leading to the termination of 250 employees in January 2022.
The insurer conducted interviews with employees seeking accommodations, lasting up to 15 minutes and involving 10 questions. One question asked whether employees used over-the-counter medications like aspirin, Sudafed, Tums, or Tylenol. Employees were incorrectly told that Tylenol and Tums were developed using stem cells, according to the lawsuit.
Noah Hurwitz of Hurwitz Law in Ann Arbor is co-counsel with Marko on Domski’s case. Hurwitz is also involved in approximately 300 other lawsuits filed by workers who were terminated for refusing COVID-19 vaccines. All were denied either religious or medical exemptions.
Other employers named in similar lawsuits include T-Mobile, Carhartt, Honeywell, Henry Ford Health, Ascension Health, Trinity Health, MotorCity and MGM Grand casinos in Detroit, and the city of Ann Arbor.
Hurwitz noted that about 90% of resolved cases have ended in settlements, with most involving religious accommodations.
Medical exemption cases are harder to win, Hurwitz explained, as they typically require proof of a qualifying disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Even a doctor’s note citing adverse reactions to previous vaccines may not suffice to avoid an employer’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Hurwitz added that some health systems mandate annual flu vaccines for employees, despite their limited effectiveness, to prevent mass outbreaks that could incapacitate hospital staff. Such mandates have been upheld in court.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jury gives $12M to woman fired for not getting COVID vax. Here’s why.