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LACo typist says she was suspended, then fired for COVID vaccine stand

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A former typist for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is suing her ex-employer and two top executives, alleging she was the victim of religious discrimination in her refusal to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, resulting initially in her suspension and later her termination.

Crystal Brock‘s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit also names as defendants Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director, and Johanna Prieto, the director of the health department’s human resources division. Brock also alleges retaliation and failure to prevent discrimination and/or retaliation. She seeks unspecified damages. A county representative could not be immediately reached for comment on the suit brought Friday, Feb. 17.

“The county’s vaccination policy, as applied to (Brock), a work-from-home employee with an on-the-record request for religious accommodation, is unconstitutional,” the suit states. The county required its employees to complete the primary vaccination series by October 2021, or submit a religious or medical exemption request and be tested weekly.

Brock turned in her request for a religious exemption and accommodation in October 2021, based on her belief that the tenets for her Baptist faith disapproved of vaccinations, the suit states. Brock’s request was received and she was permitted to work provided she complied with the testing policy, and her exemption was recognized until February 2022, according to the suit.

In January 2022, Brock’s infant child became sick with the coronavirus, so the plaintiff stayed home and alerted her supervisors that she had been exposed to COVID-19, the suit states. Brock did not take her weekly coronavirus test because she was at home, but she was still served a week later with a notice of a five-day suspension for missing the test, the suit states.

“Plaintiff complained, given she had told the county she was out sick, exposed, caring for her infant and quarantining,” the suit states.

Management told Brock that she had not properly reported her situation and took her request to have the suspension revoked under consideration, but later refused to revoke the suspension, the suit states. Human resources later revoked Brock’s religious exemption entirely and ordered her to either get vaccinated or face termination, the suit states. She subsequently filed a federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint, alleging in part that her exemption was revoked in retaliation for her complaints about the January 2022 suspension, the suit states. But the county fired Brock in August 2022 without considering the merits of the EEOC filing, the suit states.

“The sole reason cited for plaintiff’s termination was and remains her failure to get her primary vaccine series after the denial of her religious accommodation request,” the suit states. “The county’s termination papers did not include any reason or rationale provided for the county’s determination that plaintiff does not hold a sincerely held religious belief exempting her from the vaccination policy.”

Brock raised the issue of an alleged complete lack of supporting documentation for this decision at a due process hearing, but was fired anyway with no additional material being supplied, the suit alleges. Brock believes that no other Department of Public Health employee has had a religious exemption denied after being accepted initially for several months, the suit states.

Since Brock’s firing, the county no longer requires religiously exempt employees to test once a week, according to the suit.

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19 comments for "LACo typist says she was suspended, then fired for COVID vaccine stand"

  1. On Covid response, let me repeat:

    There is no longer a theoretical debate to be had. There are measurable results. Based on the general plan followed in blue states being different from the general plan followed in red states we see that red states had higher mortality rates across the board. Substantially higher. I’ve done the math before on this site, so I will skip that, but ultimately if California had gotten the results that are typical of states that followed the red state response path we would have an additional 30,000 dead Californians.

    So tell us Jason Zink, FBC, Her Again…

    WHICH 30,000 PEOPLE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE DEAD, AND HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN TO THEIR FAMILIES WHY YOU WANTED THEM TO DIE?

    • The NBER/Yale study of excess Republican deaths after the Covid vaccine came out.
      Search that.

      In this study done in Ohio and Florida more than twice as many Republicans died of Covid AFTER the vaccine came out. Before the vaccine came out the numbers were pretty even. After the vaccine came out Republican deaths spiked. “Hesitancy to get vaccinated” was the cause (and we know which TV Station was pushing the idea that Fauci was a quack).
      Public death records indicate cause of death. Public political records show which political party you belong to. That’s how it was done.
      I would be interested to know more about your sources.

      • Just use whatever statistics site that you are comfortable with to get mortality rates by state. Rank them from highest to lowest and the pattern is unmistakable. Pick whatever state you want as ‘representative’ of a red state and apply their mortality rate against the population of California. Put the result in a clean sentence, no hypothesizing, just results based.

        If California had gotten a mortality rate similar to what the state of -fill in blank- got by following the policies they followed California would have had -fill in blank- dead, instead of -fill in current California dead-.

        Then just subtract. The ‘successful’ red states will leave a difference of about twenty thousand, if you cherry pick their worst cases it can run up to 45,000 or so last time I ran the numbers. I usually use a ‘middle performing’ red state.

  2. These lawsuits are a crock. I’d give 20 to one odds that when this woman, who claims a ‘religion based opposition to vaccines’, had her kid the kid got all the shots without mom even blinking. This whole bit is just Trumpian anarchists trying to disrupt the nation that provides for them.

    • A good way to stop the lawsuits is to stop mandating the vaccine. (It’s actually not a vaccine; it’s a shot of an MRNA dose). Seeing that we know the “vaccine” does not stop the transmission of or infection of COVID-19, getting it should be up to the individual. I write this as someone who has had four shots and has contracted COVID. Our hospitals are not being over run with COVID patients and there is no undue stress on our medical system. The pandemic is over. COVID will be around for decades, just like the Spanish Flu.

      Common sense and reason.

      • I’ve had three shots and have caught it a bunch of times. However the only time that was really bad and made me consider that I might die was the first time I caught it, which was before the vaccines. As you say, hospitals are no longer being overrun, but that’s a statement on why it was a good thing that the vaccines were developed and mandated, not a reason to just let anarchists be anarchists.

          • No. Pharmaceutical companies “ramrodded development.” Trump stood around demanding applause while giving equal time to every quack remedy and conspiracy theory that came along, which lead to his moronic faithful refusing the vaccine when it came along.

          • Many Republicans observed the confusion and fear displayed by Trump during the Pandemic. BEFORE the Pandemic he was on the fast-track to be re-elected. His promotion of quack theories, horse de-wormer, malaria medication, and a few other things caused many people who might have voted for him to lose confidence.
            Biden didn’t win the election as much as Trump lost.
            He continues to display behavior that Mainstream America (the vast majority) finds worrisome.
            Do we really want to take a chance with him again?

      • According to scientific research, in all things covid, it’s been proven that the vaccine for covid has helped reduce the number of severe infection, and death caused by covid. As like other vaccines, when administered it helps reduce the chance of severe infection, like the flu; some get a flu shot and may slightly experience flu symptoms, but it helps reduce the possibility of a severe infection, throughout the flu season.

        Hospitals were no longer being hit hard by covid patients, ventilats, or numerous amounts of deaths… If a vaccine wasn’t available for the public, the spread of the virus would have continued to have overwhelmed communities and hospitals would still be dealing with the crisis.

        We are finally back to normal and people aren’t dying in large numbers anymore. That’s enough proof to show how effective the vaccine has been.

        Vacvines have proven quite effective throughout history, and has managed to stop many other diseases from spreading in the US, because we have the resources and the legal mandates in place in order to keep everyone healthy and safe from such illnesses. I never understood why people keep complaining about our Government doing their in managing public health.

        It’s like people rather live in a third world country where there’s no stable government, or public officials who care about the people.

      • YET another anti-vax numbskull showing how little it knows about herd immunity, about epidemiology, about 11th grade science/biology.
        Here’s the thing…Republicans LOVE to bash California because it’s educational system is failing, but they are the ones who can’t/won’t put in the work and time required to become knowledgeable, wise, and educated.
        Then they blame the system for their own miserable results.
        Ludicrous. Stupid.
        The behavior is ultimately the same, always the same…
        Just like this numbskull Typist, whose less-than-rudimentary knowledge led her to little appreciation for her luck in securing employment led her down a path of failure, of her own making.
        Another ‘Stupid prize’ winner.

    • Trumpian anarchist huh? What it is is freedom over our body…isn’t that what the left ALWAYS touts… We WILL NOT GIVE UP OUR FREEDOM FOR FALSE SECURITY… as you’ve seen the shots are useless…what the have done is killed and destroyed lives… otherwise, useless…

      • Bull. “Freedom over your body” is a great thing. When it doesn’t impact others I am all for it. Like if you are pregnant, none of my business or anyone elses. If you want gender reassignment therapy, none of my business or anyone elses. If you want to ride a motorcycle without a helmet ABD you are willing to have “in event of head injury do not take to ER” tattooed on your chest so no one else has to waste time and resources to treat you, none of my business or anyone elses.

        Your freedom to exhale on me is a different thing. When there is a pandemic as far as I am concerned you get two choices: cooperate in the common good, or go to a leper colony. However, we are “too enlightened” for such draconian measures, so we muddle along as best we can…but you and your disinterest in the common good are noted for reference.

      • PS: if you can point to what I said that you misinterpreted as “the shots are useless” I’d appreciate it. Laughing at people who can’t think is always better with details.

      • Do you buckle your Seat Belt when you get in your car? Seat Belts aren’t foolproof some fatalities occur with people who are wearing them. And they don’t prevent accidents.
        The government mandates that you wear one.
        Does that infringe on your freedom?
        Do you show your defiance of “Mandates” by not wearing one?

        How dedicated to anti-socialism are you? Highway 14 was paid by taxpayers and is an example of Socialism. Show your support for the “Red” cause and take Sierra Highway. And don’t call the Fire Department and while you’re at it ignore that Red Light on the corner. Nasty old Socialism put up that traffic light. We can’t have that – right?

  3. Thank you Crystal Brock for standing-up for your American Constitutional Rights against overreaching government. I don’t know if we can ever trust our government again after Covid-19, vaccine, mandates, lies, origin, lockdown, kids and mishandling.

    • Our Government did whst they needed to do in order to keep the people safe and prevent further loss of life. It’s their responsibility to do so. They have a sworn duty to put public health and safety over all else, first and far most. It’s their constitutional oath! In the event of a public health emergency, they are to put in place the necessary mandates or relay all guidance recommended by the medical officials who are educated and experienced in communicable diseases. Our government has a process to follow and a public health threat becomes a crises when it’s not managed properly, or when there’s a delayed response.

      The shut downs and set backs may have been avoided or reduced had our government at the time took heed on the warning months prior to when they did. It turned into a catastrophe, because the virus wasn’t taken seriously enough and ignored.

      In all reality we have one man to blame, not the entire government. Let’s be honest here…