A technology company has agreed to pay $15 million to settle allegations that it discriminated against those who refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the settlement. It declined to name the company.
According to the EEOC’s investigation, there was a reasonable belief that the company discriminated against employees on the basis of religion and disability by denying their vaccine exemption requests and later terminating those who declined the shot.
“There was no pandemic exception to workers’ civil rights and liberties,” said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. “Under President Trump’s leadership, the EEOC is focused on accountability and delivering results for American workers. Title VII and the ADA require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs and qualifying disabilities unless they can demonstrate undue hardship. When employers fail to meet that obligation, the Commission will act. This resolution makes clear that America’s workplaces must remain open to employees of faith and to workers with disabilities.”
Similar settlements have been reached with other companies across different industries.
The University of Colorado (CU) agreed to pay $10.3 million in a settlement surrounding its discrimination against students during its COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Before granting a religious exemption to the vaccine, the university required students to provide a “detailed response” as to why their “held religious belief, practice or observance prevents [them] from getting the vaccination,” court documents from May 2024 explain. The university then rejected applications unless the student convinced the school administration that their religion teaches that “immunizations are forbidden under all circumstances.”
A woman who was fired for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine previously won a $12 million settlement from her employer. Lisa Domski, a former employee at the insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield as an IT specialist for over 30 years, was removed from her position for refusing to take the shot.
