Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—$5.4M resolves vaccine mandate challenges, age, sex, sexual harassment discrimination allegations, (Jul 24, 2026)

By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

“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.”

The EEOC separately announced its recovery of a combined $5,422,000 in back pay and damages for workers at companies in Idaho, Florida, District of Columbia, and South Carolina to settle claims of failure to accommodate religious beliefs and disabilities, age and sex discrimination, and sexual harassment. Of that total, $5 million settled allegations that an employer denied religious and/or disability accommodations to its Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

Discriminatory Covid-19 mandate. Idaho Falls, Idaho-based Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, agreed to pay $5 million and provide other relief to resolve a commissioner’s charge and 15 individual charges that the employer violated Title VII and the ADA when the research, engineering, and consulting company denied employees religious and/or disability accommodations to its vaccine mandate policy. The EEOC systemic investigation found reasonable cause to believe that Battelle 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 Covid-19 vaccine policy. The discrimination included unlawful medical inquiries, denial of accommodations, and in some cases, termination. The company chose to voluntarily resolve the issue with the EEOC, without admission of guilt, to avoid an extended dispute.

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

“Let me be clear: there was no pandemic exception to workers’ civil rights and liberties, said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. “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.”

Owner sexually harassed young female employees. Joey’s New York Pizza and Italian Restaurant will pay $55,000 and furnish other relief to settle allegations that the Tampa, Florida-area chain of eateries violated Title VII when one of the owners, who directly manages three of its locations, created a hostile work environment by targeting young female employees, including at least one teenager, with inappropriate sexual behavior. When one of the women complained in August 2023, the company failed to intervene or take appropriate action, the EEOC said.

The consent decree resolving the lawsuit also requires Joey’s Pizza to provide mandatory training for owners, HR personnel, management, and employees; hire an outside equal employment consultant; and revise its sexual harassment policy.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Middle District of Florida; the case is No. 8:26-cv-01889-TPB-LSG.

Older worker fired, replaced with less-qualified younger candidate. The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) will pay nearly $217,000 and provide other relief to resolve allegations that the independent authority of the Washington, D.C., government violated the ADEA by firing a high-performing and experienced older member of its HR department and replacing him with a substantially younger and less-qualified candidate, one of multiple terminations of older workers in the department. DC Water terminated this employee while violating its own policies on performance notification, progressive discipline, and internal appeals, according to the EEOC.

Pursuant to the consent decree resolving the litigation, DC Water also must implement enhanced non-discrimination policies, provide notices to employees about their rights, and provide advanced training for HR and management officials on federal law prohibiting discrimination, the company’s relevant non-discrimination and complaint policies, and the officials’ respective obligations under these policies.

“Older employees are too often targets of unfounded or stereotyped assumptions, from lack of tech savvy to slower pace of work,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence. “Older workers, like all workers, are entitled to be judged fairly on their own merits, and employers who target older workers for adverse action based on their age—or age-related assumptions—will hear from the EEOC.”

The EEOC brought its lawsuit in the District of Columbia; the case is No. 1:25-cv-03189.

Staffing agency complied with discriminatory client request. WorkSmart, Inc. agreed to pay $150,000 to a class of female employees and provide other relief to settle allegations that the Greenville, South Carolina-based staffing agency violated Title VII when, from August 1, 2020, to August 8, 2023, it failed to hire or refer a class of aggrieved females for laborer positions at a facility run by one of its clients because of their sex. Purportedly, a client told WorkSmart that it would only accept male laborers at the facility; the staffing agency complied with the discriminatory instruction by failing to refer qualified female candidates.

Acting EEOC District Director Linda Sales-Long said, “Employers should remember that Title VII prohibits refusing to hire or assign a worker because of their sex. A staffing agency can also violate Title VII if it complies with a client’s request that is based on unlawful discrimination.”

The EEOC brought its lawsuit in the Northern District of Alabama; the case is No. 4:25-cv-01659.

Companies: Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC; Joey’s New York Pizza and Italian Restaurant; District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority; WorkSmart, Inc.

News: AgencyNews Discharge Discrimination AgeDiscrimination DisabilityDiscrimination ReligiousDiscrimination SexDiscrimination SexualHarassment Covid19 RemediesDamages