CALIFORNIA – A federal jury, on October 23, awarded more than $1 million each — for a total of about $7.8 million, to 6 former employees of San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) for being denied religious accommodation requested for its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

According to the nonprofit legal defense organization representing the employees, Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), the jury first determined that BART failed to prove an undue hardship in denying any accommodations to the employees.

“The jury further concluded that all of the employees had met their burden of showing a genuine conflict between their faith and the vaccine requirement, which was implemented in late 2021,” said a news release from PJI.

Chose to lose their livelihood rather than deny their faith

During the trial, jurors heard testimony from employees.

According to PJI, one of the plaintiffs had worked for more than 30 years for BART, with 10 years of perfect attendance, before being dismissed. 

Another had been out on workers comp for months, with no scheduled return date, when she was fired. 

BART argued that several of the employees’ conflicts with taking the vaccine were more secular than religious. The jury disagreed.

The 8-person jury accepted the numbers calculated by the plaintiffs’ economic expert for lost wages. They added $1 million to each of those figures.

“The rail employees chose to lose their livelihood rather than deny their faith. That in itself shows the sincerity and depth of their convictions,” said PJI chief counsel Kevin Snider.

Snider goes on to say that after nearly three years of struggle, the essential workers feel they were heard and understood by the jury and are overjoyed and relieved by the verdict.

Verdicts are expected to impact many pending cases

Nationwide, PJI represents hundreds of employees who lost their jobs after they sought and were denied religious accommodations to the COVID-19 vaccines. 

They said this week’s verdicts are expected to impact many of those pending cases.

For more information about Pacific Justice Institute visit https://pacificjustice.org/