Renfro v. Rotary Int'l

• Docket Number: 22 C 6132
• Decision Date: 24 August 2023
• Parties: KIMBERLY RENFRO, Plaintiff, v. ROTARY INTERNATIONAL, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

1

KIMBERLY RENFRO, Plaintiff,
v.
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL, Defendants.

No. 22 C 6132

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division

August 24, 2023

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

HARRY D. LEINENWEBER, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

Plaintiff Kemberly Renfro brought action against Defendant Rotary International for two counts: Count I for violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, § 42 U.S.C. 2000e, et seq., and Count II for violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act, 775 ILCS 5, et seq. [Dkt. No. 1.] Defendant Rotary International moves for dismissal of Count II of Plaintiff's Amended Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and/or pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c), for judgment on the pleadings. [Dkt. No. 18.] For the reasons stated herein, the Court grants the Motion for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Count II is dismissed without prejudice.

2

I. BACKGROUND

In her Complaint, Plaintiff Renfro alleges the following facts.

A. Parties

Rotary International (“Rotary”) is a large non-profit organization based out of Evanston, Illinois. (Pl. First Am. Compl. (hereinafter “Compl.”) ¶ 11, Dkt. No. 14). Rotary promotes a variety of health, educational, and environmental programs and initiatives and is primarily known for its international vaccination programs and efforts to eradicate polio. (Id. ¶¶ 11-12.)

Ms. Kemberly Renfro (“Renfro”) is a 49-year-old woman residing in Evanston, Illinois. (Id. ¶ 23.) Identifying as an independent Christian, Renfro holds strong religious views but does not belong to any particular church, sect, denomination, or other Christian organization, nor does she follow a pastor or other comparable religious leader. (Id. ¶ 24.) Renfro rejects modern medicine in favor of holistic, traditional medical remedies due to the former's use of chemicals that she sincerely believes are harmful to her. (Id. ¶ 25.) She attributes this rejection to her religious beliefs. (Id. ¶ ¶ 39, 47, 62.)

B. Rotary's COVID-19 Response

In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, Rotary adopted the policy that any employee who was denied a religious or medical exemption and subsequently refused COVID-19 vaccination would be

3

terminated. (Id. ¶¶ 14, 19.) The policy dictated that employees granted exemptions be restricted to virtual participation in meetings and be required to work from an ad hoc work area designed to separate them from vaccinated employees. (Id.)

C. Renfro's Religious Exemption Request and Termination

In March 2020, Renfro transitioned to remote work as ordered by Rotary. (Id. ¶ 27.) Renfro “followed Rotary's procedures in requesting an exemption to its employee vaccine mandate.” (Id. ¶ 48.) On or about August 7, 2021, Renfro submitted a religious exemption request to comply with Rotary's staff vaccine mandate and return-to-office plan. (Id. ¶ 28.) At 2:39 P.M. on September 27, 2021, Renfro received an email from Rotary's Manager of Global Employee Health & Wellness, Robert J. Luckfield III (“Luckfield”), requesting a written statement from her local “religious leader” confirming that she should not receive the vaccine due to her religion's sincerely held religious beliefs. (Id. ¶ 29.)

At 10:09 a.m. on October 4, 2021, Renfro responded to Luckfield's email explaining that she does not have a local religious leader due to her status as an independent Christian. (Id. ¶ 30.) In this email, she also explained that she rejects modern medicine and vaccinations because her religious beliefs forbid her from ingesting the unknown chemicals that may be harmful to her body and that because she views life and body as sacred creations of God,

4

ingesting chemicals would be profaning the sacred vessels. (Id.) As a reminder to Luckfield that her religious beliefs were protected by law, she also cited the EEOC's published guidelines on the definition of religion. (Id.)

On the morning of October 4, 2021, the Chief Human Resources Officer/Head of Global People & Talent at Rotary, Kristopher Newbauer (“Newbauer”), requested via email clarification of her religious beliefs with three follow-up questions: (1) whether she has ever received other vaccines; (2) whether she has ever ingested any medications; (3) and whether she has any piercings or tattoos. (Id. ¶ 31.) In an emailed response that afternoon, Renfro declined to answer Newbauer's follow-up questions, citing “HIPAA concerns.” (Id. ¶ 32.) Newbauer responded within twenty minutes claiming that she was required to answer his questions because HIPAA does not apply to employers. (Id. ¶ 33.) At 4:52 p.m., Renfro answered all questions in the negative in general terms and again but refused to provide additional details, citing privacy concerns. (Id. ¶ 34.)

The evening of October 4, at 5:05 p.m., Newbauer rejected Renfro's religious exemption request, claiming that Rotary was unable to determine that her request was based on a sincerely held religious belief because she failed to answer adequately his followup questions. (Id. ¶ 35.) He added, “even if there were a legitimate religious exemption, there would be an undue hardship for Rotary.”

5

(First Compl. Ex. B (hereinafter “Ex. B”); Dkt. No. 1 at 25; see id.) He also instructed Renfro to provide proof of vaccination by 5:00 p.m. October 8, 2021, to avoid instant termination at 5:01 p.m. (Ex. B.) Later that evening, Renfro replied, reiterating that she did respond to Newbauer's questions. (Compl. ¶ 36.) Afterwards, still on October 4, Newbauer replied that her answers, which he had seen, were not specific enough to explain the basis of her request. (Id. ¶ 37.) He also questioned how she was able to reconcile her religious beliefs surrounding vaccinations with her employment at an organization focused on using vaccinations to eradicate polio. (Id.; Ex. B.)

On October 7, 2021, at 3:41 p.m., Newbauer emailed Renfro asking whether she intended to submit proof of vaccination. (Compl. ¶ 38.) On October 8, 2021, at 12:15 p.m., Renfro emailed Newbauer and Luckfield to express her distress over the situation and to reiterate her religious reasons against vaccination and willingness to take other precautions as necessary. (Id. ¶ 40.) She concluded the email with four Bible verses and a statement that she was not separating from Rotary voluntarily but understood she was being terminated for “sincerely held religious beliefs.” (Id.; Ex. B.) At 2:15 p.m., Renfro sent another email in which she repeated her religious opposition to the chemicals present in the vaccine and repeated three of the four Bible verses from her last email. (Compl. ¶ 41.) At

6

5:01 p.m. on October 8, 2021, Rotary terminated Renfro's employment. (Id. ¶ 42.)

D. Complaints

Renfro filed a charge with the EEOC and subsequently received a right-to-sue letter on August 16, 2022. (Id. ¶ 57; see Compl. Ex. A; Dkt. No. 14.) Renfro then filed this lawsuit, in which she brings two counts of employment discrimination on the basis of religion against Rotary: Count I under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2 (Compl. ¶¶ 44-57); and Count II for violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”), 775 ILCS 5, et seq (Id. ¶¶ 58-65).

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A....