A former public utilities employee in San Francisco has sued, claiming he was wrongly fired after he refused to get a Covid vaccine.
In the lawsuit, plaintiff D'Artanian Woodard says he was denied a religious exemption after being informed in June 2021 that he would be required by the city to be vaccinated, or risk losing his job.
He later applied for a medical exemption from the vaccine, but was again denied. He was fired in February 2023, the suit says.
Woodard claims the firing violated his federal and state constitutional rights, including the right to free speech and religion.
"The Defendants denied Plaintiff s request for religious accommodation .... and did not propose any alternative reasonable accommodations to Plaintiff," the suit says. "As a result of the Defendants' violations, Plaintiff suffered and continues to suffer lost income and other economic and non-economic damages."
Woodard had worked for the utilities commission since 1995, most recently as a water quality technician, according to the suit.
"Plaintiff performed his job in a satisfactory manner and without history of any significant discipline throughout his lengthy career with the Defendant," the lawsuit states.
Woodard seeks unspecified compensatory damages, reinstatement to his job and back pay.
He is represented by attorney Arkady Itkin, of San Francisco.
Woodard v. City and County of San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, San Francisco Superior Court, CGC-23-609564