Tech Company to Pay $15 Million to Settle Bias Claims Over COVID-19 Vaccine Exemptions

A technology company with locations in 12 states has agreed to pay $15 million to settle allegations that it discriminated against people who declined to receive COVID-19 vaccines.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on March 24 announced the settlement with the company, which it is not naming at this time.

EEOC officials said they found indications the company discriminated against employees by denying requests for exemptions from the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on the basis of religion or disability, and by firing employees who were unvaccinated.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars discrimination based on religion, while the Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to accommodate employees with disabilities.

The settlement involves paying $15 million and revising policies to make sure they comply with the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. It does not include an admission of wrongdoing.

“There was no pandemic exception to workers’ civil rights and liberties,” EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said in a statement.

She said that under President Donald Trump’s leadership, “the EEOC is focused on accountability and delivering results for American workers.”

Melinda Caraballo, director of the EEOC’s office in Phoenix, added: “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.”

Many companies, starting in 2021, mandated that employees receive a COVID-19 vaccine under threat of termination.

Multiple other companies have settled similar lawsuits from the EEOC over similar claims, agreeing to collectively pay more than $4 million.

Rex Healthcare, a health care nonprofit organization in North Carolina, agreed to pay $150,000 in a settlement after denying requests for an exemption from its COVID-19 vaccine mandate to a female employee whom it had given an exemption from influenza vaccination requirements, the EEOC said on March 2.

In the fall of 2025, the EEOC said UT-Battelle was paying more than $2.8 million to settle allegations that the University of Tennessee research laboratory discriminated against employees by rejecting requests for religious exemptions from the vaccine mandate.

“While COVID-19 vaccine mandates were a novelty, our long-standing civil rights laws remain unchanged—absent an undue hardship, employers must provide a reasonable accommodation to its employees for their sincerely held religious beliefs,” Lucas said at the time.

Earlier in 2025, Mercyhealth, a health care system operating in Illinois and Wisconsin, committed to paying $1 million to settle discrimination allegations.