Hershey worker was fired after refusing COVID shot for religious reasons, lawsuit says
A former 30-year employee of The Hershey Company says he refused to take a COVID-19 vaccine because of what it contains, ultimately leading to the company firing him.
Thomas Szeltner, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, is now suing the company, saying it violated his religious beliefs.
According to a lawsuit filed in the Middle District of Pennsylvania on Aug. 16, Szeltner says he refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine mandated by his job because it was “created, tested or manufactured” using aborted fetus cells.
Szeltner is a devout Catholic. He says as part of his religious beliefs, he is opposed to abortion and views it as murder. So, when his employer, The Hershey Company, announced a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on Aug. 5, 2021, Szeltner took action.
The lawsuit states the company notified its employees on Aug. 16, 2021, that they could submit a religious exemption. On Sept. 8 of that year, Szeltner provided a personal statement as well as a statement from his priest, the lawsuit states.
His personal statement read, in part, “I feel that by mandating a vaccine The Hershey Company is forcing me to act against my own conscience and choosing evil (in this case the support of aborted human fetus cells) over any good that may result from that choice.”
McClatchy News reached out to The Hershey Company but did not immediately receive a response
According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), “Cell lines developed from past abortions are used in the testing or development of certain COVID-19 vaccines.”
The abortions resulting in the cell lines occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, the organization states.
“However, the final products do not contain fetal cells,” according to the organization. “The mRNA vaccines are not manufactured in cell lines, although testing of mRNA vaccines reportedly uses cell lines.”
The lawsuit says that on Nov. 1, 2021, Szeltner was given an unsigned letter denying his religious accommodation request, stating it would cause “undue hardship.”
Szeltner stated he was working remotely and had minimal contact with other employees. He also pointed out that not all employees were required to receive the mandate, the lawsuit states.
Still, in January 2022, Szeltner was terminated, just 10 months before he would have been eligible for retirement, according to the lawsuit.
Then, in May 2023, the company ended the mandate.
The lawsuit states that at the time of termination, the company offered Szeltner an undisclosed amount of money if he waived all legal claims, but he did not accept.
It also stated the company designated Szeltner’s end of employment as a “voluntary resignation” or “resignation without good cause,” which allowed The Hershey Company to avoid paying the 52 weeks of severance pay which Szeltner would have been entitled to under the company’s employment policy.
This also interfered with his ability to obtain unemployment benefits, the lawsuit says.
Szeltner is suing The Hershey Company. and asking for compensatory damages, including lost wages, employment benefits, back pay, front pay, retirement benefits, severance benefits, interest and pecuniary damages.
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