Transit workers fired for refusing COVID vaccines on religious grounds awarded $1.3M each

Six San Francisco public transport employees who were fired for refusing to get COVID-19 vaccines have been awarded more than $1 million each.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit [BART] employees filed a discrimination lawsuit saying they were wrongly terminated for refusing the vaccine on “sincerely held religious beliefs.”

Federal jurors this week awarded the group a total of $7.8 million, or $1.3 million each.

An official for BART, which connects the San Francisco Peninsula with communities in the East and South Bays, told KRON 4 it had “no comment” on the ruling.

BART issued a new COVID-19 vaccination policy in October 2021 that required all employees to be fully vaccinated.

Those who asked for exemptions because of “sincerely held religious beliefs” were fired, the plaintiffs’ attorneys alleged in the lawsuit, filed by the Pacific Justice Institute.

“Exclusion of religious people from the enjoyment of a right stands in violation of the First Amendment’s religion clauses and federal and state anti-discrimination in employment laws. 109 employees’ requests for religious exemption were denied,” the lawsuit said.

BART officials failed to prove an undue hardship and the six employees had revealed a genuine conflict between their faith and the vaccine, the jury ruled Wednesday.

“The rail employees chose to lose their livelihood rather than deny their faith,” said lead trial attorney Kevin Snyder said.

“That in itself shows the sincerity and depth of their convictions. After nearly three years of struggle, these essential workers feel they were heard and understood by the jury and are overjoyed and relieved by the verdict.”

The $7.8 million payout was calculated from lost wages, plus $1 million, for each fired employee.