SAN FRANCISCO – A federal jury has sided with laid-off Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) workers who sued the agency claiming they lost their jobs because of a COVID vaccination requirement.

In total, six of them are involved in the lawsuit and each will receive more than $1 million.

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The employees claimed religious exemptions from the vaccination requirement, but said they were ignored by the transportation authority and subsequently lost their jobs.

BART initially granted exemptions for vaccinations, but plaintiffs argued they were not honored. Accommodation could have meant working from home or getting regular COVID testing. They argued that none of this happened and that they had lost their jobs.

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In total, BART must now pay all six former employees a total of $7.8 million.

BART is a transit agency that is already between $350 million and $400 million in the red, but BART's board voted eight to one to require vaccinations in 2021.

BART did not comment on Wednesday's decision.