ORLANDO, Fla. — Three former staff have sued Walt Disney World, saying they had been fired after refusing to put on face masks and get the COVID-19 vaccine because of religious causes, in accordance with a lawsuit.
Barbara Andreas, Stephen Cribb and Adam Pajer stated within the lawsuit filed June 30 that Disney discriminated towards them by not accommodating their requests to be exempt from the corporate’s mandates requiring the vaccine and facial coverings.
Andres and Cribb had been fired in March, whereas Pajer was let go in June, in accordance with the lawsuit. The trio had labored for the corporate between seven and 20 years.
Disney’s vaccine mandate was suspended in November after Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers restricted the facility for employers to require workers to be vaccinated. The firm later dropped masking necessities for vaccinated staff.
The lawsuit claims that Disney’s “augmented protocols” that were forced on nonvaccinated employees consisted of “harsh isolation and restrictions” that induced “critical respiratory” and made it “nearly impossible to find a compliant manner and location in which to eat or drink while on shift.”
Adreas, who had labored for Disney for 17 years, had sought a religious exemption, claiming that sporting a facial masking is an “affront” of her Christian beliefs. The lawsuit also claimed that “participating in a medical experiment, such as covid testing or vaccines” additionally violated her beliefs as a result of aborted fetal cells had been used to fabricate it.
Disney responded to her request on Dec. 29, saying that “after cautious overview of the information you offered, we’re unable to conclude that you’re prevented from sporting a face cowl because of a sincerely held religious perception, observe or observance.”
The employees cited Biblical scriptures in requesting their accommodations, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit claims that Disney “could and should have chosen to accommodate these religious beliefs in practice,” and that the protocols made it clear the corporate “irrationally” feared the workers “as perpetually exposed or infectious with disease and a perpetual danger to other cast and guests.”
Disney has not responded to a request for remark in regards to the lawsuit.
The ex-employees are in search of an unspecified amount of cash to compensate for misplaced wages, advantages, and legal professional’s charges, the lawsuit stated.
Each of the fired workers reported the corporate to the Florida Attorney General, the Florida Commission on Human Relations, and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming discrimination and retaliation and for violating state legal guidelines prohibiting office vaccine mandates, the lawsuit stated.
They are suing beneath as Florida statute on whistleblowing, claiming that reporting the corporate to authorities additionally led to their firings, the lawsuit stated.