Transit workers who lost jobs when they didn’t get Covid vaccines are awarded $1M

Six former employees for the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency who lost their jobs when they did not get Covid vaccines for religious reasons have been awarded more than $1 million each, according to court documents related to a lawsuit the California workers filed.

A federal jury awarded the six ex-BART workers between $1.1 million and more than $1.5 million each, court records show.

The judgments were awarded Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The Pacific Justice Institute law firm, which represents the plaintiffs, said in a Thursday statement that BART failed to prove an “undue hardship in denying any accommodations to the employees” who sought them based on religious reasons.

Kevin Snider, who served as lead attorney, said the workers didn’t compromise their religious convictions for their jobs.

“The rail employees chose to lose their livelihood rather than deny their faith,” he said in a statement. “That in itself shows the sincerity and depth of their convictions.”

One of the plaintiffs had worked for BART for more than 30 years, including a decade-long stretch with perfect attendance, their legal team said.

A representative of BART declined to comment Friday afternoon.

A class-action lawsuit filed in October 2022 said BART granted the vaccine religious exemption for some, but denied accommodations in every instance. Failing to provide accommodations, according to the lawsuit, violated California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.

Accommodations can include changing job duties, providing leave for medical care, changing work schedules, or relocating the work area.

On October 14, 2021, BART issued a policy requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated against Covid as a condition of employment, the suit said.

Between then and February 2022, about 179 employees submitted requests for religious exemptions, and 70 were approved, the suit said. But none of the 70 who received an exemption were granted an accommodation, the suit said.

However, one in three BART employees seeking medical exemptions were granted an accommodation, according to the suit.

The employees who sought religious exemptions followed by an accommodation who ultimately denied the vaccine were either fired, forced to resign or retired, the lawsuit said.