General Hospital staff members sue ABC for refusing to vaccinate

two ex General Hospital Crew members James and Timothy Walls are suing ABC after being fired for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in court, which describes attempts to stem the spread of the virus as an “unprecedented restriction of freedom”. They represent the same lawyers who filed an identical lawsuit on behalf of actress Ingo Rademacher, who was also fired for refusing to be vaccinated.

“These actions were illegal. “ABC does not have the authority to force its employees to receive treatment against their will,” the Los Angeles Supreme Court said in a statement Wednesday. “Even he has to offer religious exceptions to anyone who requests it. You cannot distinguish between religions and you cannot guess the sincerity of your own religious beliefs without an objective basis for doing so. There wasn’t one here. “ABC’s actions constitute religious discrimination and violate the rights of plaintiffs under state law.”

ABC fulfilled its vaccination mandate in the summer of 2021. Wahls, who ran the construction shop and special effects department. General HospitalHe demanded religious release but was refused.

According to the suit, ABC subjected Walls to “interrogation designed to obtain information that ABC could use” as an excuse to deny his claims of religious exclusion. They probably didn’t say why they rejected her application.

“ABC said no more,” the complaint read. “You didn’t ask the plaintiffs if they could perform the essential functions of their jobs. It did not show that the company would be burdened with continuing to hire plaintiffs, even if they did not hire Covid employees. ”

After ABC decided to recognize the exception to the vaccine mandate, Walls argued that the company had no choice but to respect them. They claim that questioning the sincerity of their religious beliefs violates civil rights laws.

The lawsuits to end the denial of vaccination against the virus were characterized by a variety of approaches. Rockmond Dunbar, original actor 911 Which sued Disney and 20th Television, alleging religious and racial discrimination, retaliation and breach of contract, and filed a lawsuit in California Federal Court. Wahls and Rademacher were sued in state court for violating privacy rights, discriminating against people with disabilities, and violating other claims. One consistency was the way Disney and its affiliates handled the requirements for religious exceptions. The interviews that verify the requirements appear to be conducted by Disney attorneys who study the stories of people who apply for an exception. Danbar’s religious exemption was denied because he already had tattoos and ear piercings, violating his belief as a member of the Church of Universal Wisdom. An anonymous spokesperson for the actor also told Fox that his wife had threatened to divorce him if he got the vaccine.

Much of Walsh’s process is dedicated to reducing the impact of the vaccine to limit the spread of COVID-19. Why people are told to get vaccinated when they could still be infected with the virus is questionable.

“This should not be a political issue,” the suit said. “Not everyone needs to be vaccinated with Covid-19, mainly because the vaccine does not prevent infection.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 83% of Americans over age 5 have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The vaccine has been widely found to help prevent infection and provides particularly strong protection against serious illness and death.

ABC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.