Roles ranged from solo utility work to serving customers through bulletproof glass
BART lost its appeal over a $7.8 million verdict after failing to prove that accommodating six religious objectors would have been an undue hardship.
On September 11, 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a jury award of $7,824,580 to six former employees of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART). Each of the six received more than $1 million.
The workers had objected on religious grounds to BART's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. BART issued the policy in October 2021 and required vaccination by December 13, with exemptions available for medical and religious reasons. Its Leave Management Department found 70 employees eligible for a possible accommodation - then concluded it could not accommodate any of them. Altogether, 73 employees who requested a religious exemption lost their jobs. The six sued under Title VII and California's Fair Employment and Housing Act.
BART argued the evidence entitled it to judgment as a matter of law, or at least a new trial. The court disagreed. Under the Supreme Court's 2023 decision, an employer claiming undue hardship must show that an accommodation would be worse for safety by a "substantial," "excessive," or "unjustifiable" margin - not simply that vaccination was the most effective option.
BART could not clear that bar. It never put the public health guidance it relied on into the record. Instead of calling the officials...
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