In California, six transit workers won a $7 million lawsuit after being denied religious accommodations for the COVID-19 shot during the pandemic. With California’s strict mandates and no alternatives, a non-profit legal group had to step in and offer hope to the unfortunate workers.
What Happened?
The Pacific Justice Institute represented six former San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District employees. They claimed the public transit service did not accommodate the workers’ religious exemption requests. These employees were fired for not receiving the shot.
Defense
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)Â reportedly fired these workers for refusing the vaccinations. BART had issued a “COVID-19 Vaccination Policy” requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated as a condition of employment,
Jury Decision
A federal jury ruled that BART failed to prove an undue hardship in denying accommodations to the employees. Because of that, each worker was granted $1 million plus a year of wages totaling $7.8 million. Additionally, the jury unanimously found that all the employees had met their burden of showing a genuine conflict between their faith and the vaccine requirement.
Nationwide Cases
PJI says it is representing hundreds of employees nationwide who lost their jobs after they sought and were denied religious accommodations to the COVID-19 shots. Of the 179 religious objector employees, not one received an accommodation. Excluding religious people from the enjoyment of a right violates the First Amendment’s religion clauses and federal and state anti-discrimination in employment laws.
