An Illinois State University employee of 10 years was faced with weekly emails threatening termination from his role on campus if he refused vaccination or weekly testing.
Brian Giller still holds his job as a Data Center Coordinator and does work with IT. Since the emails, Illinois State has decided to roll back on vaccination and testing requirements because a change to an Executive Order.
“On July 13, the University learned that Executive Order 2021-22 was modified to rescind vaccination and testing requirements for higher education. As a result, effective immediately, weekly testing is no longer required for most unvaccinated students, faculty and staff,” stated University staff in a COVID-19 update.
So was it worth it? Giller is the father of three children, including a one-year old.
This was attached to all of his emails he received from the university: “Individuals who are not in compliance with the testing requirement implemented as part of the University’s health and safety standards are subject to the appropriate discipline process, which could include sanctions up to and including suspension and/or dismissal/discharge/termination.”
At the time of forced-weekly testing Giller sent an email to Associate Vice President, Human Resources Janice Bonneville and reference the Right of Conscience Act which reads:
Findings and policy. The General Assembly finds and declares that people and organizations hold different beliefs about whether certain health care services are morally acceptable. It is the public policy of the State of Illinois to respect and protect the right of conscience of all persons who refuse to obtain, receive or accept, or who are engaged in, the delivery of, arrangement for, or payment of health care services and medical care whether acting individually, corporately, or in association with other persons; and to prohibit all forms of discrimination, disqualification, coercion, disability or imposition of liability upon such persons or entities by reason of their refusing to act contrary to their conscience or conscientious convictions in providing, paying for, or refusing to obtain, receive, accept, deliver, pay for, or arrange for the payment of health care services and medical care. It is also the public policy of the State of Illinois to ensure that patients receive timely access to information and medically appropriate care.
“I refused vaccination and was subjected to weekly testing which I alternately refused also. I was threatened with weekly with losing my job via emails and letters my boss gave to me from HR,” said Giller. “I filed a religious exemption properly and it was denied. I contacted the Bloomington mayor who works at ISU, he is ironically in charge of the Office of equal opportunity and access. In my contacts with him I repeatedly stated that my rights are being violated and asked what jurisdiction they had to require me to test let alone vaccinate or deny my religious exemption and I was constantly ignored. With how I was treated at ISU, I am leaving the state and possibly moving to Missouri… I have acreage purchased there and won’t look back when I leave. It’s sad I had wanted to retire from my ISU and I’m a lifelong Normal resident but I know it is time to leave.”
Giller said he didn’t vaccinate because he is waiting for more information and long-term statistics.
“If someone walked up to me on the street and offered me food and said, ‘Eh I don’t know if this will make you sick… Would you like to eat some? Who would do that?'” questioned Giller.
Giller said he is not on board with the vaccine and will most likely never be. Giller said it started out with emails once a week and then the HR department got involved and then his direct boss approached him. Giller said he loved working for his boss.
“It was a lot of intimidation,” said Giller. “Through coercion I think people have taken the vaccine whether they’ve wanted to or not. Even testing is a violation of my rights, I wanted to preserve my own health choices.”
Giller stopped testing for about a month and did not see termination despite weekly emails threatening termination.
This story is developingÂ
