A G Equipment to Pay $4.25 Million to Settle EEOC Discrimination Charges Over COVID Vaccine-Related Mandate

TULSA, Okla. - A G Equipment Company, a Broken Arrow, Oklahoma compressor packaging manufacturer, will pay $4,250,000 to over 40 workers and provide other relief to settle a religious and disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC's suit, in the fall of 2021, A G Equipment mandated that all employees receive a COVID-19 vaccination and told workers no exemptions would be permitted for any reason. Nonetheless, several employees requested exemptions based on their religious beliefs. One worker supplemented their request with a doctor's note requesting an exemption due to a medical condition. The company refused to discuss the employees' requests and fired all individuals who did not provide proof of vaccination, on Oct. 15, 2021, including workers who requested accommodations.

"When these workers asked for a simple religious accommodation, the company didn't pause to listen or even consider the impact," said Patrick J. Holman, trial attorney for the EEOC's Oklahoma City Area Office. "It fired every one of them outright - without a conversation and without any real inquiry into whether granting an accommodation would have caused the business any hardship at all. This is unlawful as well as unfair."

EEOC Chair Andrea R. Lucas said, "Where an accommodation can be provided without undue hardship, the law requires it - the pandemic did not exempt employers from their legal obligations under Title VII and the ADA. The EEOC under my leadership will continue to hold employers accountable, deliver meaningful results, and restore dignity to American workers harmed by widespread COVID-19 vaccine-related civil rights violations."

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibit religious and disability-based discrimination. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC, et al., v. A G Equipment Company, Case No. 24-cv-00403-SEH) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

In addition to providing $4.25 million in monetary relief for 43 workers who were fired because they were unvaccinated, the three-year consent decree resolving the suit enjoins A G Equipment from discriminating based on religion or disability in the future. The decree also requires the company to train managers in compliance with Title VII and the ADA; inform employees regarding their right to reasonable accommodation for religion and disability; and report to the EEOC about handling future accommodation requests.

"The EEOC is committed to ensuring that workers receive the religious and disability accommodations they are entitled to," said David S. Davis, district director of the EEOC's St. Louis District Office. "Our doors are open to serve American workers."

For more information on religious and disability-based discrimination, please visit www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination and www.eeoc.gov/eeoc-disability-related-resources .

The EEOC's St. Louis District Office has jurisdiction over Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and a portion of southern Illinois.

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 .