Former Employees Allege School District Denied COVID-19 Vaccine Religious Exemptions

An employee of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) receives her COVID-19 vaccination at a site opened by the LAUSD for its employees in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 17, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

POMONA, Calif.—More than 20 former Hacienda La Puente Unified School District (HLPUSD) employees, all of whom objected to the district’s employee coronavirus vaccination mandate, are suing the district, alleging that they were wrongfully denied exemptions on religious grounds.

The plaintiffs’ Pomona Superior Court lawsuit alleges religious discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. They seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages in the amended suit brought on March 10.