A federal judge in California has decided not to overturn a jury's verdict that awarded $7. 8 million to six former BART employees who were fired for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine due to their religious beliefs. In a ruling on December 30, Judge William A. Alsup noted some minor mistakes in the trial, but these were not serious enough to change the original decision. The jury had ordered BART to compensate each of the six workers between $1. 2 million and $1. 5 million.
The judge explained that BART did not show enough evidence that accommodating the employees’ religious objections would cause undue hardship for the agency. He pointed out that BART needed to prove that alternative measures, like masking or remote work, would significantly burden the agency. BART had relied on expert testimony to claim that vaccination was the only effective solution. However, Alsup commented that the jury could question the credibility of these experts, especially because of their financial connections to BART.
BART’s evidence included differing statements from a supervisor who acknowledged that precautions like social distancing were working, which contradicted their experts' claims. The judge criticized BART for not providing proper documentation to support its vaccine mandate.
While he mentioned some flaws in juror instructions and a violation of pretrial orders by the plaintiffs, Alsup concluded these issues did not affect the fairness of the trial. He stated that the jury had determined BART failed to prove it would suffer undue hardship if the vaccine exemptions were granted.
Consequently, the jury's award of $7,825,859 to the six former employees remains in place. BART has chosen not to comment on the ruling.
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