A Michigan hospital, University of Michigan Health-West (UMHW), has agreed to pay $410,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by Valerie Kloosterman, a physician assistant who claimed she was fired due to her refusal to comply with workplace policies related to transgender patients on religious grounds.

Kloosterman was terminated in August 2021 after requesting a religious accommodation to avoid completing mandatory gender identity training that required affirming statements she said violated her Christian faith. According to First Liberty Institute, which represents Kloosterman, she had received positive performance reviews before raising objections based on her faith.

The legal settlement requires UMHW to establish a religious accommodation policy compliant with the law, train all employees on it, provide reasonable accommodations without retaliation, and pay damages and fees totaling $410,000 to Kloosterman.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Kloosterman said, "All I wanted to do was provide the best care possible to my patients without being forced to violate my Christian beliefs." She added, "This new policy ensures that providers of faith and employees at UMHW will receive religious accommodations so that they can provide excellent care consistent with their medical judgment, because all patients are created in the image of God."

UMHW praised Kloosterman as "an exceptional physician assistant who cares for each of her patients" and expressed gratitude for resolving the matter.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on their religious beliefs, a key element cited in the case.

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