LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A former employee is suing the University of Kentucky because she says they forced her to retire because she refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine or get regularly tested.
Laurie Ann DeVore says she worked for the university for more than 20 years.
In her lawsuit filed last week, DeVore says she refused to be vaccinated under UK's policy due to her religious beliefs. She also objected to mandatory weekly COVID testing.
She says she applied for a religious exemption to the school's COVID rules but was denied hours later. In the lawsuit, DeVore says she also submitted a request to work from home so she can keep her job and not violate her religious beliefs. The university also denied that request saying she needed to "be on site to assist students and staff members who may visit the office."
The lawsuit says DeVore was placed on unpaid administrative leave in December for four weeks and in January, she says the school threatened to fire her if she didn't comply with the testing mandate, so she retired.
She's suing for damages for loss of income, emotional distress, and anxiety.
