(Joshua Paladino, Headline USA) The Hershey Co. tried to manipulate its unvaccinated employees into receiving the COVID-19 shots, denied their religious accommodation requests, and now has begun to fire them, The Epoch Times reported.
The candy company asked terminated employees to sign a nine-page non-disclosure agreement in exchange for severance pay.
If the former employees sign the agreement, then they get a few months of pay but cannot discuss their employment or sue Hershey for medical or religious discrimination.
If they refuse to sign, then they will not get the money but legal options will remain open to them.
Kim Durham, who enjoyed her job at Hershey’s as a payment analyst and sourcing buyer, said she applied for a religious accomodation in August and did not expect the company to fight it.
“I really thought I’d be OK,” she said. “I thought, you cannot question my faith. Nobody can question that.”
Between then and now, Hershey’s human resources department has forced employees to listen to vaccine “education,” to answer “personal questions” about their beliefs, and to reconsider receiving the experimental injections.
“I thought this was behind me until September, when I met with an HR representative,” Durham said. “It was an interrogation on your religious beliefs. They twisted your words and tried to put words in your mouth. It was terrible.”
She said the questions “had nothing to do with religion,” despite her request for a religious exemption.
Hershey’s HR team asked Durham and other employees about their medical status, including other vaccinations, about their children’s medical status, and about other medications that they take.
They tried to guilt the unvaccinated employees into getting the injections by stating that the Roman Catholic Pope had taken them and had encouraged other Christians to do so as a charitable act.
Hershey’s denied Durham’s request last November.
One employee, who asked to remain anonymous until his or her termination date, said the company asked about his or her baby’s vaccination status.
“What does that have to do with me keeping a job?,” the employee said.
“From the time we started this ordeal, we have had seven meetings about my vaccination status,” the employee said. “It was like harassment. I felt like I wanted to crawl under a rock when I was done.”
