Posted on 08/12/2021 10:44:48 AM PDT by Ibi Libertas in Veritate
I've seen a lot of misunderstanding about what constitutes a "religious" exemption for the purposes of a work-related vaccine mandate. I finally registered after years of just browsing and reading to share this. Please review this information and help educate others!
A religious exemption extends to a deeply held and sincere spiritual, ethical, or moral belief. That means that a strong spiritual belief, whether from within an organized and recognized religion or one that is formed without an organized and recognized religion can qualify. Additionally, moral or ethical beliefs qualify if held and believed with the strength of what one would traditionally hold a spiritual belief.
Don't take my word for it. Read this overview:
https://www.fisherphillips.com/news-insights/religious-objections-to-mandated-covid-19-vaccines-considerations-for-employers.html
And don't take their word for it either. Read the Title VII COVID vaccine religious exemption discussion directly from the EEOC:
https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-covid-19-and-ada-rehabilitation-act-and-other-eeo-laws
And then look at the relevant portion of the CFR:
https://www.govregs.com/regulations/title29_chapterXIV_part1605_section1605.1
Please also realize that this isn't a guaranteed protection from being fired, because the religious exemption only requires an accommodation on the part of the employer. For people who have to be around others, it may be possible that the safety concern of having an unvaccinated person in close proximity to others makes prevents an appropriate accommodation. However, if you have an office job that you've been remotely performing with success, then I would think it is hard for an employer to say there is no way to accommodate you.
In any case, always remember that the lone stick breaks easily but the bundle is resilient and sturdy. Share this information and become part of a bundle if possible. An employer might not think twice about the legal risk of squashing a single person's rights, but companies are usually much more wary about exposure to the claims of many.
Good luck, and please don't forget to help inform others!
Religion is in the heart of man. No church on earth has to tell me that killing a baby in the womb is wrong.
My limited understanding is that the obligation for an employer covered by Title VII is that they need to accommodate unless doing so creates an undue burden. If your husband is working among others, then testing may be deemed to be within the appropriate scope of accommodations.
From my limited understanding, I would also think that if they require this testing from all of those who are accommodated (whether due to religious exemption, medical exemption, or otherwise), regardless of the particular grounds for accommodation, that it wouldn’t be deemed to be discriminatory, because it would be applied to everyone who is unvaccinated without regard to religion.
I’m not an expert or an employment lawyer or something, and none of this is legal advice. It’s simply me sharing my own layperson’s understanding and the materials that I’ve found directly from EEOC and regulations. So please continue to do your own research and consult a lawyer if needed.
Speaking only for myself on the bundle versus stick analogy, I think that the bundle I need would be my built from my coworkers whose religious views also prevent them from taking and/or being coerced into taking medicine that they do not believe they need.
You can help build a broader bundle by reviewing the resources I provided and helping to spread the news. Everywhere I go, I see people attacking the religious exemption as something only available to kooks and members of cults, or something that requires getting the pope himself to sign off on some lengthy screed that sets out an intricate statement of one’s religious views.
According to the experts, and according to the EEOC itself, apparently, that simply isn’t true. So help spread the word and share the resources for people to read and understand for themselves.
As for the analogy, you’re right that its history is poor. But I think it’s something most are already familiar with, and it’s easy to grasp. I hope it doesn’t turn others off, so I’ll give thought to your suggestion.
Thank you for these helpful links and tips. There are many of us under the duress of mandates who are considering exemptions. This will definitely help my case!
rebelTXrose mentioned her husband was a permanent remote worker.
It raises the interesting question: if the company had made accommodations by setting up remote work-from-home when there was no shot available, why mandate shots if work-from-home is still in place?
I.e. accommodating precedent has been set.
I am not an employment lawyer so take this for what it is (a non-expert’s opinion and not legal advice at all), but I agree with everything you and your prominent lawyer friend said. Some employers even have forms that essentially just require you to affirm that you have a religious belief that prevents you from complying with the requirement.
I won’t be going into detail like you plan to do, but if you choose to do so, you should be fine as long as you accurately convey your religious beliefs (again, whether spiritual, moral, and/or ethical).
Good luck to all. And don’t forget to find others of like mind and like courage at your workplace if at all possible. It doesn’t matter whether their religious views are your views; it only matters that they’ll stand up for their sincere and deeply held spiritual, ethical, and/or moral beliefs alongside you when the time comes.
They made very clear in the announcement that remote workers could be called into the office at any time. They actually gave up the office space where he worked. He’s on all kinds of meetings during the week.
RebelTXRose wrote:
“They made very clear in the announcement that remote workers could be called into the office at any time. They actually gave up the office space where he worked. He’s on all kinds of meetings during the week.”
In that case do y’all’s best to get the exemption.
Passing it on...
Is this on the Donald?
Yes, i didn’t actually mean you, i could have been clearer. And thank you for the information. I am about a year from retirement, mandates of any kind will just hurry it along.
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