HR leaders face tough questions as Coast Guardsmen challenge vaccine-related separations and denied benefits
Coast Guardsmen’s challenge to their COVID-19 vaccine-related separations puts religious accommodation and HR policy under the microscope in a case decided October 14, 2025.
Six current and former United States Coast Guardsmen have brought a case against the federal government, alleging they were separated from service and denied benefits after not complying with the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The complaint, filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims, focuses on claims that their requests for religious accommodation were denied and that they lost out on service-related protections and benefits.
According to the court record, the Coast Guard denied religious accommodation requests from 1,351 service members, including the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs allege they were denied procedural rights such as administrative discharge boards, reenlistment boards, legal counsel, pre-separation medical treatment, and separation pay. They also claim the Coast Guard did not properly distinguish between Emergency Use Authorization vaccines and FDA-approved vaccines.
After the court addressed several critical issues in a January 2025 decision, the President issued an executive order on January 27, 2025, directing the reinstatement of service members discharged solely for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. This order allowed affected Coast Guardsmen to seek reinstatement,...
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