Rex Healthcare will pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the company for firing an employee who refused to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The lawsuit was filed in December 2024. The employee, Heather Goeller, worked in a department that was working remotely from the start of the pandemic and was never asked to return to in-person work. Goeller had been given religious exemptions for the flu vaccine in 2019 and 2020 but was denied when the COVID vaccine mandate was established in 2021. The settlement includes the creation of a new policy addressing religious accommodation requests for employees and an explanation on how to request for “reconsideration” if an employee receives a denial.