A lawsuit filed this month against Children's Healthcare of Atlanta over a seasonal flu shot underscores the clashing interests between hospitals trying to protect patients and staff and the religious beliefs of their employees.

The U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission alleges maintenance assistant DeMaurius Jackson refused a flu shot due to "his sincerely held religious beliefs" and then was fired by the hospital, "which failed to provide him with a reasonable accommodation."

Jackson is a practicing member of the Jewish faith and a member of the New Covenant Congregation of Israel, according to the suit filed Dec. 16 in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. The lawsuit does not provide specifics on the congregation's religious objection; many Jewish congregations encourage vaccinations.