More workers sue US nuclear lab over vaccine mandate

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Another group of workers is suing Los Alamos National Laboratory over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, arguing that the requirement discriminates against employees who sought religious or medical exemptions.

The complaint was filed Friday in federal court by the Thomas More Society, a Chicago-based law firm, on behalf of eight workers. Under the lab's policy, those with religious exemptions have to use vacation time or go without pay until they are allowed to return to work, and it's up to lab management to determine when it’s safe for them to return.

“This is discrimination, pure and simple,” special counsel Tyler Brooks said Tuesday in a statement. “Los Alamos claims to have offered exemptions for those who have sincere religious reasons for not taking a mandatory COVID vaccine, but their one-size-fits-all so-called ‘accommodation’ is flagrantly illegal. Accommodation by termination has never been a lawful option.”

The lab has declined to comment on any pending litigation over the mandate.

An effort by more than 100 engineers, technicians and other workers who sought to put the vaccine mandate on hold was rejected by a state district judge earlier this month, clearing the way for the lab to begin firing workers. Lab Director Thomas Mason told employees during a recent meeting that 185 workers had left over the mandate. About two dozen were granted medical exemptions, and more than 150 were granted religious exemptions.

“Nearly all employees — about 99% — have now taken the most important step to prevent the spread of COVID-19: getting vaccinated," the lab, which employs nearly 14,000 people, said Friday.

The lawsuit argued that the lab refuses to detail its criteria for determining when COVID-19 levels are low enough for employees on leave...