COVID Shot Mandate Lawsuit Cost Seattle $875K
- by Carolyn Hendler, JD
- Published
- Conscience
The City of Seattle has quietly paid $875,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by Marina Shinderuk, a former 911 police communications supervisor. Shinderuk was terminated in 2021 after declining the COVID-19 shot despite having received a religious exemption from the city.1
Shinderuk had worked for the 911 center for more than 14 years as a telecommunicator. When the city of Seattle issued its COVID shot mandate for all city employees, she applied for a religious exemption which was granted.2
Seattle’s COVID shot mandate, issued in 2021, required all city employees to get the controversial shot as a condition of employment. Shinderuk applied for and received a religious exemption to the mandate. Following that approval, city officials initially discussed accommodations such as masking, weekly testing, or relocation. However, Shinderuk was ultimately terminated on the basis that she failed to meet in-person work requirements and posed operational challenges.3
Initially, the city offered accommodations such as masking, regular testing, and the possibility of working from home. But within five weeks, Seattle rescinded those accommodations and terminated her employment. The long- time employee was told that she was not compliant with the COVD shot mandate. A single mother of three children, Shinderuk was suddenly left without a pay check, healthcare and her pension.4
Shineruk said:
I remember when it got approved at the end of September, I got this huge sense of relief, like, ‘Oh, okay, I don’t have to worry about it’. Thank God, you know, literally, because I’ve been praying about it a lot, and it was a big weight on me. So then only a couple weeks later, to be told, ‘Oh yeah, tomorrow’s your last day. ‘That’s it. It was just, it was surreal.5
A ”bombshell investigative report” has revealed that top officials among Seattle city employees agreed that there would be no religious exemptions granted to the COVID shot mandate. During an Oct. 13, 2021 meeting of Seattle department heads, Adrienne Thompson, senior advisor to mayor Jenny Durkan, stated that the city had no intention of granting any religious accommodations to the vaccine mandate.6
Shinderuk filed a lawsuit alleging that the city was in violation of the Washington Law Against Discrimination and 42 U.S.C. §1983, a civil action for deprivation of rights.7 8
The parties entered into a settlement agreement whereby Shinderuk will dismiss the lawsuit and release all claims in exchange for the city paying her $875,000. This amount will be considered non-economic damages and includes all attorney fees and costs.9
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