This case challenges Santa Clara County’s discriminatory vaccine mandate and arbitrary risk tier system that classifies employees as low, medium or high risk. The Plaintiffs were relegated to unpaid leave because they would not take a religiously objectionable vaccine and because they were classified as high risk. The county prioritizes employees with medical exemptions and assists them with finding a position. Many Plaintiffs have been trying to locate a job at the county for months. Plaintiffs raise First and Fourteenth Amendment claims and a claim under the Fair Employment and Housing Act.
PRESS RELEASE | SANTA CLARA COUNTY EMPLOYEES SECURE FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT AFTER FOUR-YEAR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY FIGHT
ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 14, 2026
CONTACT: NICOLE VELASCO AT
MEDIA@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Murrieta, CA — After more than four years of litigation, Advocates for Faith & Freedom, together with Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP, has secured a favorable settlement on behalf of Santa Clara County employees who challenged the County’s treatment of workers with sincerely held religious objections to its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The case began in 2022 after County employees who had received religious exemptions from the vaccine requirement were nevertheless prevented from continuing to work in positions the County classified as high risk. The employees challenged the County’s refusal to provide reasonable accommodations that would have allowed them to continue working while adhering to their religious convictions.
“This was a long and difficult fight, and our clients remained steadfast throughout it,” said Sam Kane, Senior Legal Counsel for Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “They should never have been forced to choose between their sincerely held religious beliefs and their livelihoods. We are grateful to have reached a favorable resolution that recognizes what they endured and brings this years-long litigation to a close.”
Throughout the case, Advocates and Wolf Haldenstein challenged the County’s accommodation policies and defended the employees’ rights under federal law. The litigation continued through extensive discovery, class proceedings, dispositive motions, and preparation for trial before the parties ultimately reached a settlement.
“Our clients showed tremendous resolve in pursuing this case,” said Rachele Byrd of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP. “They stood by their convictions through years of complex litigation, and we are pleased to have secured a favorable settlement that provides meaningful relief and allows them to finally move forward.”
The case is another reminder that religious liberty protections matter most when exercising one’s faith comes at a real personal or professional cost. “Religious freedom cannot exist only when it is convenient,” Kane added. “When government policies place people in the position of choosing between their faith and their careers, those rights must be defended. We were honored to stand alongside these employees.”
Press Release | Santa Clara County Judge Certifies COVID-19 Vaccine Lawsuit As A Class Action
Advocates for Faith & Freedom
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, January 30, 2024
CONTACT: nicole velasco @
media@faith-freedom.COM
The Class Action Allows Hundreds of Employees the Opportunity to Prove Their Damages
Murrieta, CA – Monday evening, January 29, 2024, Federal Judge Beth Labson Freeman of the Northern District of California certified a vaccine-related lawsuit as a class action for liability purposes, allowing hundreds of employees in Santa Clara County who were placed on unpaid leave for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine to prove their damages.
This case challenges the County’s discriminatory COVID-19 vaccine orders and practices, which relegated employees to unpaid leave, even if they had a religious exemption. The January 29 order allows the Plaintiffs to proceed to trial on behalf of a class of hundreds of employees in the County who declined to take the vaccine due to their religious convictions.
Specifically, the Court certified the following class:
All individuals who: 1) work or worked for the County and/or [] were subject to its vaccine policies and orders, including the Risk Tier System; 2) were forced by the County to choose between taking the vaccine to maintain their jobs and/or their employment-related benefits or being placed on unpaid leave; 3) were [] classified as working in high-risk jobs pursuant to the County’s Risk Tier System; and 4) received [] a religious exemption from the County (the “Class”) between August 5, 2021 and September 27, 2022 (the “Class Period”).
“We are confident that we will prevail because the County’s vaccine policies and practices were arbitrary and capricious and discriminated against religious employees,” says Mariah Gondeiro, an attorney for Advocates for Faith & Freedom. Advocates has been appointed as Co-Class Counsel along with Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP.
“The County owes these courageous county employees, who worked faithfully throughout the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, lost wages and benefits,” says Bethany Onishenko, also an attorney with Advocates for Faith & Freedom.
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Press Release
Advocates for Faith & Freedom
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: friday, july 1, 2022
CONTACT: nicole velasco @
media@faith-freedom.COM
For Immediate Release 07/01/2022, Murrieta, California – Thursday evening, June 30, 2022, Federal Judge Beth Labson Freeman of the Northern District of California enjoined Santa Clara County’s vaccine policy – a first in California.
The county’s COVID-19 vaccine policy gave accommodations to employees with medical exemptions in the form of transfers and reassignments while placing employees who sought religious exemptions on unpaid leave.
Judge Freeman wrote:
The County admits that in assisting exempt employees in high-risk roles with transfers to available County positions in other risk tiers, the County gives “those with disability or medical contraindication vaccine exemptions . . . ‘preferential consideration’ pursuant to California State Disability Regulations and the Americans with Disabilities Act.” Marquez Decl. ¶ 41. The Court finds that this portion of the Accommodations framework likely “operate[s] in practice” in way that “target[s] religious practices” by placing those with religious exemptions at a disadvantage behind those with secular exemptions (medical and disability). Stormans, 794 F.3d at 1076 (quoting Lukumi, 508 U.S. at 535–37). Thus, Plaintiffs have shown that they are likely to succeed in proving that this portion of the Accommodations framework is not operationally neutral.
“Santa Clara County’s trend of acting discriminatory towards people of faith in relation to COVID-19 received another rebuke from a federal court,” says Robert Tyler, President of Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “Discrimination against Christians and other people of faith will not be tolerated.”
“We will not stop fighting for the courageous employees of Santa Clara County until they have been fully repaid their lost wages and benefits, which were stripped away because of their religious beliefs” says Mariah Gondeiro, an attorney for Advocates for Faith & Freedom.
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Press Release
Advocates for Faith & Freedom
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, March 3, 2022
CONTACT: nicole velasco @
media@faith-freedom.COM
For Immediate Release 03/03/2022, Los Angeles, California – Today, Unify Santa Clara County (“UnifySCC”) filed an application for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction pending the disposition of their lawsuit filed against Santa Clara County, Sara H. Cody, and James Williams. The Plaintiffs request the Court immediately restore their jobs.
UnifySCC is an association that consists of members whose sincerely held religious beliefs prevent them from taking the COVID-19 vaccine or booster. Santa Clara County has relegated them to unpaid leave, depriving them of their livelihood, because they are “high” risk employees, as determined by the county’s arbitrary risk tier system. The Defendants did not engage in negotiations to determine if reasonable accommodations were available to the members of UnifySCC. However, Santa Clara County does provide reasonable accommodations to employees for medical reasons, as illustrated in emails UnifySCC relies on in its lawsuit.
“Santa Clara County’s vaccination policies are a blatant violation of the First Amendment,” says Mariah Gondeiro, an attorney for Advocates for Faith and Freedom. “The county has no compelling reason to treat similarly situated individuals differently based on religion.”
Furthermore, Santa Clara County’s vaccination policies are irrational, arbitrary, and counterproductive to community health. As stated by Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya, the expert for UnifySCC, the county’s policies are irrational because “[t]he individuals placed in high risk are more likely to have contracted COVID-19 in the past and therefore have immune protection. It is counterproductive to public health to strip these employees of their employment when the public relies greatly on their services.”
In addition to immediate injunctive relief, UnifySCC is also seeking compensatory damages against Santa Clara County, including, at a minimum, lost wages.
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About Advocates for Faith & Freedom (www.faith-freedom.com): Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts. Our mission is to engage in cases that will uphold our religious liberty and America’s heritage and to educate Americans about our fundamental constitutional rights.
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