Since the advent of the COVID-19 vaccines early in 2021, potential religious exemptions to mandatory vaccine requirements have been a challenging legal issue and focus of debate. Given that applicable federal, state and local laws generally require accommodation of an employee’s sincerely-held religious beliefs if they do not create an undue hardship on the employer’s operations, the highly personal nature of these issues in the context of vaccination mandates raises a unique set of issues. Those issues continue to evolve.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has recently updated its guidance on religious accommodations applicable to COVID-19 vaccinations. Religious accommodation court cases contesting some vaccination mandates because they make no provision for religious exemptions are wending their way through the judicial system. And the highly anticipated Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) rule, requiring employers with 100 or more employees to require the vaccinations or weekly testing, is anticipated to be promulgated imminently. As with everything else involving COVID-19, religious accommodation issues are complicated and the legal requirements seem to change day by day.
On October 25, 2021, the EEOC issued updated and expanded technical guidance (the “EEOC Guidance”) concerning how Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended applies when an employee requests a religious exemption to...
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