A San Francisco jury on Wednesday ruled in favor of six former public transit workers who lost their jobs after refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine. The workers opposed vaccination for religious reasons and sought an environment where they could continue to work while adhering to their faith. The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), which represented the workers in the case, said the ruling was a victory for religious freedom.
What the hell happened? Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has fired employees after they opposed vaccination for religious reasons. Former employees then sued the company. According to PJI, BART argued that its employees opposed the vaccine for secular rather than religious reasons. PJI’s lawyers argued that the fact that the workers were willing to lose their jobs before being vaccinated showed the sincerity of their religious beliefs.
According to PJI, some of the workers testified about their experiences in court. One former employee had been with the company for more than 30 years and had a perfect attendance record for 10 years. The other person did not have workers’ compensation when he received his termination notice. The jury ordered the company to pay a total of approximately $7.8 million to six employees. BART told WORLD it would not comment on the matter.
Dig deeper: Read Steve West’s report in Liberty’s about how the fire chief’s religious discrimination case made it all the way to the Supreme Court.
