Jury Awards $687,000 to BlueCross BlueShield Scientist Fired for Refusing COVID-19 Vaccine

Published on July 2, 2024

A federal jury awarded $687,000 to a biostatistical research scientist who was fired from BlueCross BlueShield in Tennessee in 2021 for refusing to comply with her employer’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Tanja Benton, who had worked 16 years at the firm when she was fired, was awarded $177,240 in back pay, $10,000 in compensation, and $500,ooo in punitive damages, according to a document made public by the federal court in eastern Tennessee on June 30. Company officials told Ms. Benton in August of 2021 that she would need to be “fully vaccinated” to keep her position, according to her lawsuit. Ms. Benton refused, saying aborted fetal cell lines were involved in the development of the COVID-19 vaccines and she could not “in good conscience consume the vaccine, which would not only defile her body but also anger and dishonor God.”...

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