religious exemption vaccination letter example

United Airlines recently denied several employees' requests for religious exemptions from the airline's vaccine mandate. The issue is already playing out in workplaces across the country. It was more about can you work on the Sabbath of your particular religion,' Reisman said.īut in the era of COVID-19, and with the rise of the more contagious and virulent Delta variant, employers are asking more probing questions: 'They are becoming more brazen about asking for supporting information, like a note from a religious leader,' Reisman said.

'Before vaccine mandates, I think religious accommodations were few and far between and generally related to things that didn't require employers to ask too many questions. Prior to the pandemic, employers asked few questions around individuals' religious beliefs, if for instance an employee made a request to not work on a holy day. The EEOC's view of sincerely held religious belief is employers aren't supposed to challenge the sincerity of the belief,' said Jason Reisman, co-chair of Blank Rome's labor and employment practice group. Most labor attorneys agree there is a lot of legal gray area when it comes to claiming and approving religious-based requests for vaccine exemptions. 'But I cannot tell you that what you sincerely hold as a religious belief does not exist, so that's a potential challenge.' No longer 'few and far between'

'Employers still need to engage in the interactive process to determine what the practice entails and someone else's belief is sincere or not,' Banks said. What's clear is that when an employee submits a request for an exemption, the employer must engage in a two-sided dialogue to determine if the worker's request can be met. What is key is even the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has not given the best guidance on how it is you determine what a sincerely held religious belief is,' said Sadie Banks, assistant general counsel and human resources consultant for Engage PEO, a human resources and benefits provider.

'It's not as clear as the medical exemption. But even with written documentation, the determination process for employers can be murky. There is a medical provider who explains the disability that prevents this employee from being vaccinated,' Camacho Moran said.Įmployment lawyers encourage individuals making requests for religious exemptions to vaccine mandates to document their beliefs in writing. 'With most disability accommodation issues, we automatically get a third party involved. Immunology professor calls Biden's new vaccine mandates 'essential' 08:26 It is new territory for many employers navigating the issue, given how risky a proposition it is to allow unvaccinated employees to mingle with, and possibly infect, colleagues in the workplace. 18 or lose their job, unless they receive an accommodation. Jay Inslee's mandate that workers be fully vaccinated by Oct.

And in Washington state, some 3,800 state workers are have requested religious exemptions to Gov. Roughly 2,600 Los Angeles Police Department employees are claiming religious objections to the department's COVID-19 vaccination requirement, according to the Associated Press. Sweeping new vaccine mandates could force millions of vaccine holdouts to become inoculated against COVID-19, although individuals of faith or people with disabilities may still be exempt from getting jabbed.Įmployers with vaccine mandates in place already report being inundated with worker requests for exemption from any requirement to get their shots. Religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccine mandates grow 04:48

Religious exemption vaccination letter example