Court Upholds $7.8M Verdict for Employees Fired Over COVID-19 Vaccines
The Ninth Circuit upheld a $7.8 million verdict for employees fired over COVID-19 vaccine refusal.
Why it matters: This ruling highlights the legal risks employers face when enforcing COVID-19 vaccine mandates without accommodating religious objections. It sets a key precedent for labor law and workplace religious accommodation litigation.
- $7.8 million total jury award upheld by the Ninth Circuit on Sept. 11, 2026.
- Six former BART employees awarded over $1 million each for refusal to get vaccinated on religious grounds.
- The original jury verdict was issued in October 2024 against the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART).
- The court ruled BART failed to prove that accommodating religious objections would impose undue hardship.
On September 11, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a jury verdict awarding $7.8 million to six former employees of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART).
The employees were terminated for refusing to comply with BART’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, approved in 2021, which required vaccination as a condition of employment.
Each employee was awarded over $1 million in the original October 2024 jury verdict. The lawsuit argued that BART violated their rights by denying religious exemptions from the vaccination policy.
The Ninth Circuit panel found that BART did not meet its burden of showing that accommodating the religious objections would cause undue hardship to transit operations.
The court emphasized that even if the vaccine was the most effective method to prevent COVID-19 transmission, less effective preventive measures could still be reasonable accommodations.
This ruling is significant for employers as it clarifies that vaccine mandates must be carefully balanced with religious accommodations to avoid costly litigation risks.
Legal professionals should consider this precedent when advising clients on workplace vaccine policies and religious accommodation requirements.
By the numbers:
- $7.8 million — total jury award upheld by Ninth Circuit.
- 6 — number of former BART employees awarded over $1 million each.
- 2021 — year BART’s vaccine mandate was approved.