Attorney General Derek Schmidt has told university officials to stop alleged violations of a new Kansas law making it easier for workers to get religious and moral exemptions to COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
Schmidt's letter to leadership at the Kansas Board of Regents, the University of Kansas and Kansas State University demanded they "immediately cease and desist from vaccine mandate activities in violation of law."
Violations can result in civil action from the attorney general.
When Schmidt announced last week that he was advising employers not to question religious beliefs, he said the purpose of the law is to protect workers, not to punish employers. He said his office is seeking compliance with the law.
"In Kansas, an employee’s religious faith may not be put on trial in order to obtain the waiver to which the employee is entitled by law," Schmidt said in a news release. "It is particularly distressing when a public-sector employer — an agent of the government — sits in judgment of the sincerity of an employee’s religious faith. Under the new law now in effect, that is not only distressing, it is also illegal."
The two universities fall under the President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccination mandate for federal contractors. Schmidt is challenging the mandate as part of a Georgia-based lawsuit.
"We have updated our forms, processes and deadlines in an effort to align with both the Attorney General’s letter and the federal executive order," KU spokesperson Erinn...
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