Religious Vaccine Exemptions

Do You Qualify For A Religious Exemption From Your Employer’s Vaccine Mandate?

In an era where the COVID-19 vaccine has become politicized, many employers are simply brushing off their employees’ requests to be exempted from their vaccine mandates that all employees receive a vaccine as nothing more than a bad-faith effort to avoid getting vaccinated.

If you feel that your rights have been infringed,  Call (800) 467-0334 now to schedule a free consultation about your religious exemption case.

What Is The Process, and Do You Qualify?

In order to be eligible to claim a religious exemption you must have a “sincerely held belief.” This includes moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views. When requesting a religious exemption from an employer’s vaccine mandate, it is imperative that you assist them in arriving at the proper outcome by making it clear that your opposition to the vaccine is strictly based on your sincerely held religious beliefs.

Assuming your employer determines that you have a “sincerely held religious belief” that prevents you from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, or at least believes it is possible, you are not automatically exempted from the vaccine; the Employer now carries the burden of engaging in what is known as the “interactive process.”

For more information on the full process involved click here.

If your responses are satisfactory, your employer is required to accommodate your religious exemption if possible.
Examples of accommodations, in this context, may include:

• Working remotely
• Requiring weekly COVID-19 tests
• Requiring that you wear a mask at all times
• + More

Many employers have been inundated with requests for exemptions, and have essentially thrown out the baby with the bathwater – because there are so many improper requests, they assume all requests are improper, and deny meritorious requests in the process.

Were You Terminated, or Placed on Leave, After Making a Request for a Religious Exemption?

Under FEHA, an employer is prohibited from taking “adverse employment actions” against their employees based on, among other things, religion. “Adverse employment actions,” in turn, are employment decisions which materially, and adversely, impact an employee’s working conditions.

Possible adverse employment actions are:

• Termination
• Demotions
• Placed on leave
• Targeted for write-ups.

If, after reading this, you believe your employer improperly disregarded your bona fide request for a religious exemption, contact Frontier Law Center today for a free consultation. If your rights have been infringed, Frontier Law Center will fight on your behalf.

Call (800) 467-0334 now to schedule a free consultation about how to proceed with your case.