Santa Barbara water utility employees who refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and were forced to be tested for COVID-19 biweekly by their employer have won a six-figure settlement.
The Goleta Water District agreed to a judgment in which the plaintiffs are the prevailing party five months after the five employees sued alleging that the COVID vaccine mandate was so restrictive that it discriminated against their religious beliefs, which prevented them from submitting to the injection.
“This was fairly early on that they offered this judgment that the plaintiffs were the prevailing parties, which means they did not want to litigate this case clearly and go to discovery,” said Mariah Gondeiro, an Advocates for Faith & Freedom lawyer.
Advocates for Faith & Freedom lawyers filed the lawsuit against the Goleta Water District on June 1 and secured $125,000 for their clients last week.
“We’re happy to see these Plaintiffs vindicated and receive substantial reimbursement,” commented Robert Tyler, President of Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “This judgment sets a precedent that government officials will be held accountable when they discriminate and retaliate against employees for exercising their religious beliefs.”
Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a nonprofit law firm that specializes in religious and civil liberties litigation.
Because they requested and were granted religious exemptions, the five plaintiffs had to choose between unpaid leaves of absence or paying for bi-weekly COVID-19 tests on their own time. Causes of action included violations of the constitutional free exercise of religion and the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
Under the settlement agreement, each of the five plaintiffs will receive $25,000. An undisclosed amount of attorney's fees will be paid separately, according to Gondeiro.
“Biweekly COVID tests cost up to $800 a month, which for government employees really eats into your paycheck,” she said.
The unvaccinated workers were also restricted from entering certain buildings and were required to wear an N95 face mask while vaccinated employees were not held to the same standard.
“They had no compelling reason to treat plaintiffs differently than their vaccinated colleagues, especially considering several of them already contracted COVID-19,” Gondeiro told the Southern California Record.
Three water district employees have quit while two remain on staff.
“They didn’t want to have to pay for testing and the ones that have already left don’t want their jobs back,” Gondeiro added. “The award is definitely way more than what they had to pay out of their pocket so it encompasses obviously the non-monetary aspect of damages."