Shortly after the news about his treatment of Peterson was reported in the media, Meijer told the Detroit Free Press that the Petoskey pharmacist was no longer employed by the company.

Peterson, who works as a cardiovascular sonographer and thus had a suspicion that her rights were being violated, reported Meijer to the ACLU. In October, the ACLU lodged a formal complaint with the company. As a result of that complaint and the negotiations that followed, on March 28 spokespeople from the ACLU and Peterson announced that Meijer has agreed to take the following steps to protect its customers:

If a customer calls in or presents a prescription to a pharmacist who has a religious objection to filling the prescription, a second pharmacist will take over and immediately fill the prescription.

If a second pharmacist isn’t present, the on-duty pharmacist will call the prescription into another nearby Meijer pharmacy, which will immediately deliver it to the original pharmacy. According to the ACLU press release about the agreement, that delivery should take place within two hours at most. Before the settlement with the ACLU and Peterson, Meijer’s policy was to refer such customers to different area pharmacies. It was then the customer’s responsibility to travel to the second pharmacy to fill their prescription.

No customer will be told if a Meijer pharmacist has an objection to the customer’s medication.

Finally, Meijer has committed to training its existing pharmacy staff on the new policies and to be sure new employees receive the training as part of their orientation.

“The real reason we are here today to make this announcement is all because of Rachel Peterson and her bravery and willingness to come forward, share her story, and shine a light on this issue,” said ACLU of Michigan legislative policy strategist Merissa Kovach.

For her part, Peterson praised Meijer and said that the company’s new policies put the state’s other pharmacies “on notice.”

“My whole goal in this was to make sure no one had to endure the humiliation and horror I went through last year,” she said.

Asked how often Michigan pharmacists turn away Michigan patients due to the pharmacists’ choice of religious beliefs, Kovach replied she wasn’t able to give an estimate, “but certainly, as a result of Ms. Peterson sharing her case, many other women and customers at other pharmacies have come forward.”

“So, what's really great about what Ms. Peterson was willing to do by coming forward was shining a light on an issue that has been in the dark for so long,” Kovach added.

According to Kovach, Michigan doesn’t currently have any laws on the books protecting pharmacists who refuse service based on the pharmacists’ religious beliefs. Further Michael Steinberg, the ACLU of Michigan’s legal director and another participant in the press event, said the Meijer pharmacist who refused to serve Peterson was actually in violation of the state’s Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act, which prohibits sex-based discrimination.

“If another pharmacy does something similar, they open themselves up to liability in state court, or it could be a complaint filed with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights,” Steinberg explained. “Here, Meijer acted quickly and to everybody's satisfaction and that was not necessary.”

None of the other major pharmacy companies that operate in Michigan, including CVS, Walgreen’s, Kroger, or Rite Aid, responded to questions from Daily Kos about their corporate policies protecting customers from religion-based discriminatory behavior by their pharmacists.

Dawn Wolfe is a freelance writer and journalist based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This post was written and reported through our Daily Kos freelance program.