N.J. Social Service Workers Suspended For Refusing To Get Flu Shots

BURLINGTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Imagine being told to get a flu shot, or else be suspended from work without pay.

As WCBS 880's Levon Putney reported, that was exactly what happened for some workers in New Jersey.

They were told either to get the shots or wear surgical masks while at work. But the three women – Alanda Watson, Denise Mercurius, and Megan Duncan – refused.

They have now been suspended without pay from their jobs at the Burlington, New Jersey-based social service agency Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey.

The agency runs a couple of nursing homes and other services around the state, and started requiring its workers to get the flu vaccine to cut the risk of getting clients sick.

But all three women, who work in the headquarters as accountants and in billing, said they object to taking the vaccine. They said further that wearing a surgical mask to work is embarrassing and unnecessary.

The women said they will let them know what happens next when they return to work on Monday, Nov. 16.