Former GENERAL HOSPITAL Crew Members’ Lawsuit Against ABC Going to Trial
Although Ingo Rademacher’s lawsuit against ABC/Disney over the COVID vaccine mandate was dismissed by the judge, another suit from GENERAL HOSPITAL crew members James Wahl and Tim Wahl against the network arguing religious discrimination that was filed back in June 2022, is headed to trial.
Like Rademacher, the father and son, who worked in the special effects department at GH, were fired for refusing to follow the vaccine mandate required by the network to continue working on the soap. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the Wahls dropped their claims for disability discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination last year but are continuing with their religious discrimination suit. And a Los Angeles judge has found that the case should go before a jury.
“As many people move beyond the pandemic, this ruling should serve as a reminder of the thousands of people who lost their careers because they asserted their rights and stood up to their employers’ efforts to make them violate their conscience,” the Wahls’ attorney, Scott Street, told Deadline. “The pandemic won’t be over until every corporation that violated its employees’ rights has been held accountable. We look forward to presenting this case to a jury soon.”
During the summer of 2021, numerous studios instituted vaccine mandates to protect cast and crew from the COVID-19 virus. the mandate required vaccines for anyone working in “Zone A” of a production, which would normally include the actors performing unmasked as well as the crew on set with them at the time. While the Wahls were primarily behind the scenes, they did occasionally work in “Zone A” with the unmasked talent.
“The Court’s ‘hands are tied,’ as they say,” the court order stated. “There are enough disputed facts that the jury, not the judge, must decide whether Plaintiffs could have been accommodated without an undue hardship to Defendant.”
A trial-setting conference has been set for March 11. Keep checking back here at SoapsInDepth.com for further updates on this developing story.
