Kittleson v. PeaceHealth

WE have filed a new complaint against PeaceHealth, Kittleson v. PeaceHealth, on behalf of those who were not accommodated despite having a disability that would not allow them to receive any of the vaccines.  Each of the three plaintiffs have had reactions to previous vaccines making them more likely to have a reaction to future vaccines.  Despite this fact, PeaceHealth decided that it knew better than our plaintiffs’ doctors and insisted that they could and should take the vaccine.  As a result, PeaceHealth refused to accommodate any of them.

The facts in this case are presented below:

1. PeaceHealth adopted its COVID vaccination mandate on the idea that the vaccine would stop transmission of the virus. There was ample information out from trusted sources that the vaccine would not stop the virus. Why was this not considered?
2. Plaintiff’s Disabilities. Evidence of medical conditions and adverse reactions from past vaccinations was presented to PeaceHealth. No accommodation was provided despite these disabilities.
3. The Process Used by PeaceHealth Upon Enacting the COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate. PeaceHealth has long had a requirement for staff to receive the flu vaccination, allowing a simple religious or medical opt-out which was accommodated. That process changed significantly with the COVID-19 Vaccination Policy implementation.
4. The Effect of PeaceHealth’s Actions on Plaintiff’s. Each of the Plaintiffs have experienced extreme hardship as a result of PeaceHealth’s actions. Financially they have had to sacrifice in ways most of us have never experienced. They have also paid extreme emotional consequences as well, including panic attacks an suicidal thoughts. The fact that PeaceHealth believed it acceptable to require that they risk their lives or lose their jobs shows the unreasonable business practices PeaceHealth is willing to employ.
5. PeaceHealth Could have Accommodated Unvaccinated Employees without Significant Difficulty or Expense. In the Zimmerman v. PeaceHealth Title VII case, the judge said that we have stated a colorable claim that PeaceHealth could have accommodated and have yet to prove that accommodating Plaintiffs was an undue burden. We expect that the same will happen in this case.

PeaceHealth will have to answer the complaint within 90 days. We are excited for our Plaintiff’s as this case moves forward. Karen Osborne has, as usual, done a fantastic job with this brief. Thank you for your hard work, Karen!

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