Premiere Rehab (doing business as Infinity Rehab), a rehabilitation and therapy service provider with locations in 18 states, including Minnesota, has agreed to resolve a discrimination charge filed with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). As a result of successful conciliation efforts between the parties, Infinity Rehab has agreed to provide monetary relief to the affected employee and to provide training for all employees and managers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an employee who worked as an occupational therapy assistant for Infinity Rehab was placed into a third-party long-term care facility. The facility’s policies required all contracted staff working within the facility to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. Pursuant to her religious beliefs, the employee requested an accommodation so she would not have to get the vaccine.
While Infinity Rehab initially asserted it intended to accommodate the employee’s request, the third-party facility’s policies ultimately precluded them from providing the employee with an accommodation and she was terminated as a result. The EEOC’s investigation found that probable cause existed to believe Infinity Rehab, the staffing agency responsible for placing the employee in the third-party facility, engaged in an unfair discriminatory practice, and ultimately terminated the therapy assistant’s employment.