The energy company that manages the Idaho National Laboratory agreed Monday to pay $5 million and other relief to resolve charges of discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Battelle Energy Alliance faced a lawsuit filed by individuals and the EEOC in 2021 alleging that the company violated religious and disability rights of more than 100 INL employees with its vaccine policy during the 2020 pandemic.

The company chose to voluntarily resolve the issue with the EEOC, without admission of guilt, to avoid an extended dispute.

The EEOC’s systemic investigation found reasonable cause to believe that BEA discriminated against a class of more than 100 employees by denying accommodations for their sincerely held religious beliefs and/or disabilities under the company’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy. The investigation found discrimination included unlawful medical inquiries, denial of accommodations, and in some cases, termination.

Denial of religious and/or disability-related accommodations, absent undue hardship to the employer, violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on religion, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination based on disability.

“I commend the EEOC’s field teams for their unwavering dedication, and I appreciate Battelle Energy Alliance’s willingness to resolve these serious allegations,” said Andrea Lucas, EEOC chair. “Let me be clear: there was no pandemic exception to workers’ civil rights and liberties. Absent undue hardship, employers are required to provide reasonable accommodation for sincerely held religious beliefs and qualifying disabilities.

“When companies fail to meet that obligation, the EEOC will act decisively to enforce the law and deliver meaningful results for victims of COVID-19 vaccine-related discrimination. America’s workplaces must remain open to employees of faith, and to workers with disabilities, regardless of circumstance.”

The settlement with the EEOC resolved a 2021 commissioner’s charge filed by Lucas, as well as 15 individual charges of discrimination filed by employees who worked at the BEA facilities in Idaho Falls.

Following the EEOC’s investigation, the parties engaged in a pre-litigation conciliation process which resulted in a three-year agreement requiring BEA to provide back pay and compensatory damages to the aggrieved individuals. The agreement also requires BEA to train human resources personnel on religious- and disability-related accommodation request policies.