Tipcke v. Olmsted Medical Center

Background

Olmsted Medical Center required its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or comply with specified alternatives, including seeking a medical or religious exemption. Mariah Tipcke, a former licensed practical nurse employed by Olmsted Medical Center, alleged that she had sincerely held religious beliefs preventing vaccination. She requested a religious exemption, which was denied, and was discharged on October 28, 2021, because she had not been vaccinated and had not received a religious or medical exemption.

Tipcke asserted religious-discrimination and religious-accommodation claims under the Minnesota Human Rights Act in Count 2 and disability-related claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act in Count 3. She also asserted a Title VII religious-discrimination and accommodation claim in Count 1, which Olmsted Medical Center did not seek to dismiss at the pleading stage. Olmsted Medical Center moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), which allows dismissal for failure to state a legally sufficient claim. It also asked the court to strike the complaint’s references to punitive damages.

Minnesota Human Rights Act claim

The court held that Tipcke had not plausibly alleged religious discrimination under the Minnesota Human Rights Act. She did not allege that she was replaced by someone outside her protected class or facts showing that she was treated differently because of her religion. Instead, the complaint alleged that the vaccine policy applied to all employees and that she was terminated for refusing the vaccine.

The court also held that the Minnesota Human Rights Act does not require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for religious beliefs. The court distinguished the Act’s express accommodation requirement for disability from Title VII’s express religious-accommodation requirement. Because the Act does not include a comparable religious-accommodation requirement, the court held that Tipcke’s state-law religious-accommodation claim was not legally cognizable. Count 2 was dismissed for failure to state a claim.

Americans with Disabilities Act claims

The court held that Tipcke had not plausibly alleged disability discrimination because the complaint contained no facts showing that she had, had a record of, or was regarded as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limited a major life activity. The court further held that she alleged only a request for a religious accommodation, not a request for a disability accommodation that Olmsted Medical Center knew about and denied.

The court also rejected the claim that the vaccine policy required an unlawful medical examination or disability-related inquiry. It held that a vaccine does not seek information about an employee’s health, and that asking for vaccination status is not likely to elicit information about a disability. The court noted that Tipcke did not allege that she personally underwent COVID-19 testing and held that, even if she had, the alleged testing would not constitute an unlawful medical examination under the ADA. Count 3 was dismissed for failure to plausibly allege disability discrimination or an unlawful medical examination or disability-related inquiry.

Punitive damages and disposition

The court declined at this early stage to strike the complaint’s reference to punitive damages relating to the remaining Title VII claim. Olmsted Medical Center’s request to strike that reference was denied without prejudice to renewing the request later in the proceedings.

The order granted Olmsted Medical Center’s motion to dismiss. It dismissed Counts 2 and 3 with prejudice. The Title VII claim in Count 1 was not dismissed by this order. Judge Ann D. Montgomery signed the order on April 4, 2023.