Woman says Integris Health policy violated religious beliefs
Creeping biometrics...
Some interesting facts in this case. The woman who was fired stated that while the palm scan was optional, they were not to inform patients of that fact. And, she was told to only scan the right hand...interesting.
And he causeth all, both small and
great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right
hand, or in their foreheads: Revelation 13:16
GROVE — An Oklahoma woman said she
was relieved of her duties at an Integris hospital after she cited
religious reasons for not wanting to comply with a hospital policy. Maggie McBane, of Grove, recently told
her supervisor at Integris Grove Hospital that she objected to
signing up patients to use palm scanners that the hospital uses to
identify patients.
Integris, the largest Oklahoma-based
health system in the state, uses a palm-vein scanner system known as
PatientSecure, which works by scanning the vein pattern of a
patient's palm, according to the Integris website.
McBane cited religious reasons,
explaining that she thought the company was lying to its patients
about the type of information it was collecting and that she thought
the system resembles the “mark of the beast” referenced in
Revelation, the last book in the Bible. “We do have a First Amendment right
to freedom of religion, and I don't think it's fair for a company to
request activities of their employees that go against their moral
faith without reasonable accommodation,” she said.
McBane said her next step may be to
take legal action against Integris. Integris spokeswoman Brooke Cayot said
in a statement that Integris respects religious preferences and
beliefs of all employees and patients. “The matter came to the attention of
Integris management,” Cayot said. “Our employee held the position
of patient registrar, and conducting palm scans is an essential job
function of that position.”
