Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

A federal court recently issued a $400,000 judgment for a Lansing area woman in what some call a win for religious freedom nationwide.

Paula Caltrider spent nearly four years seeking compensation from Teva Sales and Marketing after she was fired in early 2022 for rejecting the company's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, claiming a religious exemption.

“If we don’t take a stand for our religious rights and our freedoms, then we’re just going to get trampled on. Part of being an American and being free, and having our rights and our civil rights, they can’t force you to put anything in your body,” she told WHMI News.

“It says in the Bible that our body is a temple of God. Just making you do something you don’t want to do, they can’t do that. And I wasn’t going to sit back and let them because it’s against the law.”

According to Hurwitz Law, which represented Caltrider, the federal court's formal Rule 68 Offer of Judgment does not require the pharmaceuticals company to admit fault, but the entry of judgment is a 'clear legal win that strengthens the broader national movement defending Title VII religious rights.'

The same law firm secured the landmark $12.7 million victory in Domski v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan over similar complaints.

Caltrider says her judgement provides a powerful example for Americans so they can also stand up and hold companies legally accountable when they to choose discriminate, instead of following the Federal Law Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Her employment was terminated in February 2022 -- a decision Caltrider says brought deep emotional, mental, financial, and spiritual strain.

“They’re looking at your social media. They subpoena everything about you, like your medical records. They’re looking to see every social media thing they can find on you as ammunition,” she added.

“During that time, you always feel like Big Brother or some big lurking entity is hovering over you.”

Caltrider has since founded the Facebook group Michigan for Jesus, linked below, and encourages others to stand firm in their convictions, because she says faith is worth defending, and courage can move a nation when you put God first to fight your battles.