The University of Michigan Health-West (UMHW) has reached a settlement with an employee who was fired after raising concerns about mandatory gender-identity training in 2021.
The hospital system fired former employee and physician assistant Valerie Kloosterman because she said she would be unwilling to use preferred pronouns and would not refer patients for gender-transition procedures, according to a 2022 letter sent to the UMHW by First Liberty Institute, who represented Kloosterman.
The settlement, announced Wednesday, requires the hospital system to pay $410,000 in damages and fees to Kloosterman, create a religious accommodation policy, and notify and train all of its employees and grant “reasonable religious accommodations without retaliation,” according to First Liberty Institute, a legal organization that defends religious freedom.
Mary Masson, senior director of public relations for UMHW, declined to comment and said they had no information to share about the settlement.
First Liberty Institute said in an email to The Epoch Times that Kloosterman is now working at a different job.
Under the new policy reached in the settlement, employees will not be required to perform or assist with gender transition treatments, including procedures, medications, and referrals, if doing so would violate the employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs. Employees also will not be required to use pronouns in a way that violates their sincerely held religious beliefs or conscience.
First Liberty Institute provided a copy of UMHW’s new policy. Regarding pronouns, it states that “employees will not be required to use pronouns in a way that violates their religious beliefs or conscience. Notification to the employee’s supervisor is required so that the supervisor can assume care and ensure that medical records are maintained per UMHW policies.”
The policy states that the health system won’t retaliate against an employee who invokes the religious accommodation.
“Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against and punishing employees for their faith,” said Kayla Toney, an attorney at First Liberty, in a statement. “Valerie is an exceptional physician assistant who cares for each of her patients. Employers cannot drive out people like Valerie just because of their sincere religious beliefs. We are grateful to have resolved this matter with University of Michigan Health-West.”
Kloosterman, a Christian who is a member of United Reformed Church, worked as a physician assistant at the hospital system for 17 years.
“All I wanted to do was provide the best care possible to my patients without being forced to violate my Christian beliefs,” Kloosterman said in a statement. “This new policy ensures that providers of faith and employees at UMHW will receive religious accommodations so that they can provide excellent care consistent with their medical judgment, because all patients are created in the image of God.”
