A singer is close to finalizing a settlement of her lawsuit against the Los Angeles Master Chorale in which she alleged her requests to be tested for the coronavirus rather than take vaccinations, which she objected to for religious and medical reasons, were wrongfully denied, attorneys told a judge Tuesday.
Virenia Lind’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleged religious discrimination, failure to accommodate religious belief or observance, failure to accommodate disability and medical condition, failure to engage in interactive process to determine reasonable accommodation for disability and medical condition, discrimination based on disability and medical condition and failure to prevent discrimination.
On Tuesday, attorneys in the case informed Judge Tiana Murillo that the two sides need an additional 35 days to finalize the accord. The lawyers had told another judge in August that Lind’s case was resolved, but only “in principle.”
No terms have been divulged and Murillo scheduled another hearing for an update on Feb. 10.
In their previous court papers, LAMC attorneys denied Lind’s allegations and said her claims were barred by the statute of limitations. The lawyers also stated that any actions the LAMC took were for “valid business reasons.”
In her suit brought in June 2023, Lind maintained that LAMC forced the soprano into unpaid leave status in 2021, the year the company mandated that all employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“Lind is unable to take COVID-19 vaccines because the vaccines conflict with her sincerely held religious beliefs as a Christian, including her Christian belief that abortion is a sin and the use of a product developed with aborted fetal cell lines is a sin,” the suit stated.
Lind also could not safely take the shots because of the potential reaction with her angioedema, according to the suit, which further stated that the singer told management about her religious and medical objections to the mandate and said she would test for COVID-19 with an appropriate protocol.
Lind’s request for accommodation has been denied in alleged violation of the state Government Code, according to the suit, which further stated that LAMC’s alleged discriminatory conduct has caused Lind lost income as well as emotional distress.