An employer can later reconsider an accommodation based on changing circumstances.Ĭertain State and Local Vaccination Mandates The employer is not required to provide the accommodation preferred by an employee if there are other possible reasonable accommodations. When considering workplace safety, an employer may consider such factors including the nature of the employee’s duties, the number of employees who are vaccinated, how many employees and non-employees enter the workplace and the number of employees who will need a particular accommodation.Ĭase-by-Case Assessment: An employer needs to assess undue hardship on a case-by-case basis by considering the specific facts of each situation. If an employer demonstrates that it is unable to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs relating to a vaccine mandate without posing an undue hardship on its operations, then Title VII does not require the employer to provide the accommodation.Ĭourts have found undue hardship where, for example, the religious accommodation, if granted, would impair workplace safety, diminish efficiency in other jobs, or cause co-workers to carry the accommodated employee’s share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work. Undue Hardship: Pursuant to the EEOC Guidance, an employer should thoroughly consider all possible reasonable accommodations, including telework and job reassignments. Employees do not, however, need to use “magic words” to so inform their employer.Įmployer Response: Employers generally should assume that a religious exemption request is based on a sincerely-held belief however, if an employer has an objective basis for questioning either the religious nature or the sincerity of a particular belief, the employer would be justified in making a limited factual inquiry (including how the employee’s religious belief conflicts with the employer’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement) and seeking additional supporting information.Īn employee who fails to cooperate with a reasonable request for verification risks losing any subsequent claim that the employer improperly denied an accommodation. Notice to Employer: Employees must inform their employer if they are requesting an exception to a COVID-19 vaccination requirement because of a conflict between that requirement and their sincerely-held religious beliefs, practices or observations. The EEOC Guidance highlights several key points: 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 employer COVID-19 vaccination requirements. As with everything else involving COVID-19, religious accommodation issues are complicated and the legal requirements seem to change day by day. 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. Religious accommodation court cases contesting some vaccination mandates because they make no provision for religious exemptions are wending their way through the judicial system.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has recently updated its guidance on religious accommodations applicable to COVID-19 vaccinations.
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. 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. Public Services, Infrastructure, Transportation.