On July 29, 2022, Liberty Counsel secured a secured a settlement in the amount of $10.3 million against NorthShore University Health System for their Covid jab mandate. The class action suit represented over 500 health care workers who were terminated or denied religious exemptions from NorthShore’s covid jab requirement. While it still requires approval of the federal courts, this is the first major settlement of its kind.
Terms of the deal include the following: NorthShore will have to change its policy to allow religious accommodations going forward; employees terminated as a result of policy are eligible for rehire at their previous position and cannot be barred from certain facilities on account of jab status.
The compensation structure for the settlement goes as follows: terminated employees are expected to receive $25,000; those who got the jab after being denied religious exemption shall only receive $3000; the lead plaintiffs for the suit are expected to receive an additional $20,000 for their role in the suit; Liberty Counsel shall receive compensation of 20%, which is lower than industry standard.
NorthShore is located primarily in the Chicago Metropolitan area and is affiliated with the University of Chicago. The suit was filed in October of 2021.
Analysis
Liberty Counsel secured a victory for their clients and this settlement should be marked with praise. While the amount of $20,000 might seem trivial compared to the lost wages in between the period of the case being filed and the settlement being finalized, there is a sense that those who took up the fight received more than those who bent the knee. For those who got the jab after their exemption was denied, they are only receiving a fraction of what the lead plaintiffs, who will make nearly double that of their peers who were terminated.
When Covid tyranny was being imposed, there were few organizations advocating on behalf of their clients better than Liberty Counsel. They were early to the fight where even Alliance Defending Freedom was reticent to act. There were too few soldiers willing to fight against the mandates. By settling, they likely achieved the best outcome, as there is no guarantee they would have succeeded in a court before a vaccinated liberal judge nor did the Supreme Court defend the rights of healthcare workers against the jab mandates across the country. These health care workers were hung out to dry.
As there is greater evidence that the jabs do not work, are unsafe, and the boosted are most susceptible to the variants, the administration is not backing down in its vindictive mandates. Already our military is being purged of servicemen over these mandates while failing to meet its recruiting goals by wide margins. While the courts might be shifting against the military mandates, much of the damage will already have been done and is unlikely to reverse course. But these too are fights Liberty Counsel has taken up, recently securing class certification for a suit against the US Air Force.
The fight against Covid has not ended. As the new school year comes around, it might be renewing. The best time to fight was March of 2020. The second-best time is now. Do not cower as the schools attempt to impose jab mandates. Fight the good fight.
