A woman has reached a tentative settlement in her lawsuit against the Directors Guild of America Producer Pension & Health Plan in which she alleged she was discriminated against and terminated in 2022 for objecting to a mandate that employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Lea Landis’ Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit also alleged retaliation and failure to prevent harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Her attorney filed court papers on Monday with Judge Michael Small informing him of a “conditional” resolution in the case with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by May 4.
No terms were divulged. In their previous court papers, guild attorneys denied Landis’ allegations and cited multiple defenses, including that the claims were barred by the statute of limitations and that the plaintiff “unreasonably failed to complain of any alleged unlawful conduct to take advantage of the preventative or corrective opportunities available and/or otherwise avoid harm.”
Landis was hired in September 2008 as a representative in the guild health plan’s claims department. She and her fellow employees were told to work remotely in March 2020 because of the pandemic and the plaintiff performed well from home, the suit filed in February 2024 stated.
The guild health plan initiated a policy in July 2021 for all workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, but Landis objected due to her Catholic religion and was granted an exemption two months later, according to the complaint, which further stated that Landis continued working remotely and received positive evaluations from her supervisors.
However, in March 2022 Landis was told that she would no longer receive her religious accommodation and was told to be vaccinated and to return to the office, the suit states. She was
Landis “refused to violate her sincerely held religious beliefs in order to keep her employment,” the suit stated. Landis also alleged she was not give other options and was terminated that same month, an action she contended violated public policy, the suit stated.