Jarold Daniel Friedman worked as a temporary computer contractor for a pharmaceutical ware- house. The warehouse offered him a permanent position, but the warehouse required that he get a mumps vaccine, grown in chicken embryos, as a condition of his permanent employment. Friedman, a vegan, believed that the vaccination would violate his religious beliefs and declined to be vaccinated. As a result, the warehouse withdrew its offer of employment. Friedman claimed that the warehouse discriminated against him on the basis of religion.
Do you agree with Friedman?
Do employers have a duty to respect the beliefs of their employees? If so, what happens when that duty conflicts with employers’ duty to provide a safe and healthy work environment? [Friedman v. Southern California Permanente Medical Group, 102 Cal. App. 4th 39 (2002).]
