EEOC Reaches $15 Million Conciliation Agreement to Resolve Discrimination Claims Related to COVID-19 Vaccinations

WASHINGTON - A leading global technology company with locations in twelve U.S. states specializing in electronics and computing products and services will pay $15 million and furnish other relief to resolve charges of religious and disability discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

The charges were filed with the EEOC's Phoenix District Office in December 2021. In its investigation, the EEOC found reasonable cause to believe that the company discriminated against a class of employees on the basis of religion and disability by denying their COVID-19 vaccine exemption requests and terminating employees who declined to receive vaccines. The company chose to voluntarily resolve this issue with the EEOC, without admission of liability, to avoid an extended dispute.

"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."

The alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination because of an individual's religion and requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs, observance or practice unless doing so would cause an undue hardship. It also violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires the accommodation of disabilities absent undue hardship, and prohibits employers from discharging an employee because of their disability or because they engaged in protected activity by requesting an accommodation.

Melinda Caraballo, director of the EEOC's Phoenix District Office, said, "We are pleased we were able to reach a resolution of this matter. The company's agreement to review and revise its equal employment opportunity policies and report these changes to the EEOC are important steps in ensuring a workplace free of discrimination."

As part of the three-year conciliation agreement resolving the charge, the company agreed to pay a class of employees a total of $15 million. The company also agreed to review its policies to ensure compliance with Title VII and the ADA. The company also agreed to provide annual training on religion- and disability-based discrimination and reasonable accommodations to all management and non-management staff and report to the EEOC on accommodation requests for three years. Further, the company will post a notice about equal employment opportunity rights, which encourages employees to report allegations of discrimination.

For more information on religious and disability discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination and https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination-and-employment-decisions .

The EEOC Phoenix District Office has jurisdiction over Arizona, Colorado, parts of New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government's employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .