AURORA, Colo. — A former research director at the University of Colorado School of Medicine has filed a lawsuit against the university, alleging religious discrimination after being terminated for refusing to comply with the institution's COVID-19 vaccination policy.
Alyse Brennecke, who served as the director of clinical research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Division of Gynecological Oncology for six years, was fired in October 2021 amidst a dispute over the vaccine mandate.
"It was jab or job," said Brad Bergford, Brennecke's attorney, who emphasized the alleged ultimatum faced by his client.
The controversy began when the University of Colorado announced its COVID vaccination policy in April 2021, with a deadline of Sept. 1, 2021.
Brennecke applied for a religious exemption in August 2021, citing objections rooted in her religious beliefs. Her objection stemmed from the vaccine's development process, which involved the use of aborted fetal tissue, contravening her religious convictions.
"This represented a disruption of God's sacred design for life, and as a result, she did not want to participate in receiving those kinds of pharmaceuticals," Bergford said.
Despite Brennecke's religious exemption request, the university swiftly denied it and notified Brennecke that failure to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination would result in further action, potentially leading to termination.
The university referred its denial to its policy which stated that religious exemption would apply to a person whose religion opposed all immunizations.
Numerous scientific reports have highlighted the common use of cell lines derived from aborted fetal tissue in pharmaceutical testing, a process also employed in the development of widely used drugs like acetaminophen, ibuprofen and aspirin.
Bergford admitted uncertainty regarding whether Brennecke had previously taken any of these medications.
In a lawsuit filed on April 2, she argues the university’s denial violated rights outlined in Title VII, emphasizing that employers are required to seek accommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs.
Bergford emphasized that employers are not tasked with determining the legitimacy of their employees' religious beliefs but instead, their obligation lies in assessing the sincerity of these beliefs.
On Sept 22, 2021, the university issued a letter to Brennecke declaring her violation of their policy, stating they would be relocating her to remote work, and reducing her pay by 10%. According to the lawsuit, this pay reduction was purportedly justified by the amount of work deemed impossible for Brennecke to perform remotely.
Additionally, the university issued another warning, granting her one month to comply with the vaccination requirement or face "additional disciplinary actions, including termination."
Following the two warnings from the university, Brennecke was ultimately terminated on Oct. 20, 2021, becoming one of several employees now suing the institution over their dismissals.
"These people have meaningful careers, they have meaningful education, they had a meaningful record, they're doing things that are important to the world, and they were threatened and ultimately lost their jobs," Bergford said.
In response to Brennecke's lawsuit, the University of Colorado defended its vaccination policy, stating, "The implementation of the vaccination policy at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus was critical to providing a safe and healthy place for our students to learn, our faculty and staff to work, and crucially, to protect the more than two million patients we serve annually."
Even though this suit comes nearly three years after Brennecke was fired, and at a time where COVID vaccine requirements have mostly waned, Bergford highlighted the potential nationwide implications of the outcome, saying, "If a federal court in Colorado says, you know what, these rights no longer exist, then those protections will have substantially been eroded."
Brennecke is seeking monetary damages for loss of pay, emotional suffering and other losses. While she is the sole plaintiff in her lawsuit, another lawsuit against the university involves at least 11 unnamed plaintiffs, including physicians, nurses and other administrative roles within the Anschutz Medical Campus.
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