Jury awards unvaccinated transit workers in San Francisco over $1M each
Six rail transit workers in San Francisco’s Bay Area who were fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine have been awarded more than $1 million each in damages.
The former employees had been working for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system when the vaccine mandate was imposed in 2021. They declined the shots on religious grounds, but BART refused to allow them religious accommodation. All six were terminated, including one who had served the rail line for over 30 years and had a decade of perfect attendance.
In 2022, the fired workers sued BART through the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), a non-profit legal defense organization. BART argued that the plaintiffs’ refusal to be vaccinated was for secular reasons, not religious ones. It also tried to claim that the workers’ lack of vaccination would have caused “undue hardship” to the department, which would have justified denying religious accommodation.
But a federal jury in the US District Court for the Northern District of California disagreed. On October 23rd, it ordered BART to pay $7.8 million in damages. The amount included compensation for lost wages with an additional million dollars added for each plaintiff.
They 'chose to lose their livelihood rather than deny their faith'
“These verdicts are seismic—a 7.8 San Francisco legal earthquake,” said PJI President Brad Dacus in a statement after the verdict. “This amazing outcome represents so much hard work by our team, perseverance by these clients, and fairness from our judicial system.”
Kevin Snider, who served as lead trial counsel, said: “The rail employees chose to lose their livelihood rather than deny their faith. 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.”
PIJ said it is representing “hundreds” of unvaccinated people across the country who were terminated for their refusal of the shots and the BART verdict is expected to impact those cases.
