After more than three years and one near-settlement, the final plaintiff suing the Department of Energy prime managing the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee has settled her case in federal court over COVID-19 vaccination policy.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley formally dismissed the case by plaintiff Jessica Bilyeu after Bilyeu notified the federal court in Eastern Tennessee of a settlement with UT-Battelle.
Bilyeu’s last remaining claim alleged employment retaliation by the University of Tennessee-Battelle venture that runs the lab. The lab employee alleged the contractor modified her fiscal 2021 job evaluation for challenging the COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
Before the settlement, the case was scheduled for trial on April 23. The case ended with a joint “stipulation of dismissal” being filed Friday in the Knoxville court.Terms were not disclosed in the court file.
There were six plaintiffs in the case, including Jessica Bilyeu’s husband Jeffrey suing UT-Battelle in June 2022 when it appeared a settlement was at hand. But that deal fell apart before all details were concluded and the case resumed a litigation track. The other plaintiffs, save for the Bilyeu couple, dropped out or settled.
Last month Atchley ruled Jeffrey Bilyeu failed to show he was adversely affected by the contractor’s handling of his request for a religious exemption from the COVID shot. The accommodation was approved but he was instructed to take 60 days of unpaid leave.
The plaintiffs initially filed suit in October 2021 saying the operations contractor for the lab was being more rigid on COVID-19 vaccination requirements than was necessary under an executive order signed by President Joe Biden.
