During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Biglaw firms across the country instituted vaccine mandates in an effort to protect the members of their workforce. Now, a former employee who was fired for refusing to be vaccinated has filed suit, claiming that the firm discriminated against her.
Denise Lemke, who once worked as a practice group assistant at Jenner & Block — a firm that brought in $582,122,000 gross revenue in 2023, putting it at No. 86 in the Am Law 100 — alleges that the firm should have granted her a religious exemption from vaccination. Law360 has the details:
“Plaintiff contended, in her written request, that use of the vaccines was ‘inconceivable’ to her in that ‘abortion is murder.’ Taking any of the vaccines would therefore ‘be a mortal sin’ in that it would require her to ‘condone the killing of an unborn child,”‘ according to the suit.
The firm denied her accommodation request shortly after. Lemke claims Jenner “granted similar requests for accommodation that were sought by men, and were sought by people younger than plaintiff (53 at the time of her termination).”
Lemke claims she was fired on March 22, 2022, because Jenner denied her accommodation requests.
Although similar suits have been rejected by the courts, Lemke is moving forward with hers, alleging that Jenner discriminated against her based on her religion, sex, and age. She is seeking back and forward wages, punitive damages, costs, and attorney fees.
Jenner & Block Sued For Firing Worker Over Vax Refusal [Law360 (sub. req.)]
Former BigLaw employee alleges she was wrongly fired for vaccine refusal [ABA Journal]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
