A Michigan hospital has agreed to pay $410K to a physician assistant after she was fired for refusing to participate in transgender surgeries. Christian Valerie Kloosterman had worked for University of Michigan Health-West (UMHW) for 17 years with positive performance reviews during that time when she was faced with a conundrum in 2021. After a mandatory so-called “diversity and inclusion” training, Kloosterman requested a religious exemption from affirming statements about gender that violated her Christian beliefs, referring patients for transgender surgeries, as well as using preferred pronouns that did not align with a patient’s biological sex. “All I wanted to do was provide the best care possible to my patients without being forced to violate my Christian beliefs,” Kloosterman said in a statement. However, the hospital refused to offer her an accommodation. During meetings with personnel, Kloosterman reported being called “evil” and told to keep her religious convictions at home. Within three weeks of her request, Kloosterman was fired.

Represented by First Liberty Institute, Kloosterman filed a religious discrimination charge through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and requested to be reinstated. When the hospital refused, First Liberty filed a federal lawsuit in 2022. By August 2025, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Kloosterman’s favor. After that ruling, UMHW agreed to a settlement. In addition to awarding Kloosterman with $410,000 for damages and fees. As part of the settlement, UMHW also agreed to create a new policy for religious accommodations without retribution to those who request it.

Speaking to Decision, Kloosterman said she hoped the outcome would encourage other believers to stand firm in their faith. “My prayer is that believers would stand firm, that they would be light and salt wherever God has placed them, that they would see who they’re working with and working for as people created in the image of God. For my friends and colleagues still working at UMHW, I’m glad that now they can receive a religious accommodation because of the policy change we achieved,” she said. “That’s all I was asking for in the first place, before I was fired.” Kayla Toney, legal counsel for First Liberty Institute, said the settlement set an important precedent for Christians in similar workplace situations. “UMHW’s new policy ensures that people of faith won’t be forced to participate in gender transition treatments that violate their beliefs, forced to affirm statements in mandatory trainings that go against their consciences, or forced to use pronouns that go against their consciences,” she said. “The law requires employers to accommodate people of faith in the healthcare setting.”