Legal Help for Vaccine Religious Exemptions

Now more than ever, it is essential to be aware of your rights and freedoms protected by the U.S. Constitution. Whether a student in the classroom, a soldier in the military, or an employee in the workplace, Americans have the fundamental right and religious liberty to refuse vaccines and should be emboldened to exercise this freedom. If you are refusing a vaccine due to religious convictions and are still being pressured, check out the resources below for guidance on religious exemptions and fill out a Legal Help form.


*An employer CAN question the employee’s belief to find out if they are SINCERE, meaning they’re not merely using religion as a basis for their request just to avoid the COVID shots. The employer can ask WHAT they believe, WHY they believe it, HOW it affects their life decisions and their decision regarding the COVID shots. An employer CANNOT question the validity or correctness of religious beliefs. The employer CANNOT ask why the employee is interpreting a Scripture in a particular way, or why the employee objects to the COVID shot when others in their church or religious order either have no position or even support the shots.


Guidance for Religious Exemptions in the Workplace:

In the workplace, employees with sincere faith-based convictions increasingly encounter conflicts between what their employer wants and what their faith demands. No one should have to choose between their livelihood and their faith.

Many job-faith conflicts arise in the following contexts: 1) the employee's observance of holy days (Sabbath, Sunday, other days of worship or religious holidays); 2) the employee's objections to DEI training requirements, demands for false pronoun or name usage, or workplace celebration of other activities the Bible describes as sinful; or 3) the employee's faith-based objection to vaccine requirements.

Employees object to certain otherwise-mandatory vaccines or injections due to the presence of aborted fetal cells or based on the use of aborted fetal cell lines in the testing and/or development of the vaccines. Still other employees may object simply on the basis that they believe God wants them to forego further vaccines and rely solely on Him for protection of their health often after seeking God's guidance through prayer on how they should respond to a vaccination demand.

For all of these scenarios, there can be nuances, and some scenarios do not fit neatly into these categories. Liberty Counsel can assist employees in protecting their religious beliefs in the workplace by providing sample language for these scenarios and others.

Such samples can be used to help the employee articulate what the employee already believes. For these reasons, complete our Legal Help form at LC.org/legal-help, so Liberty Counsel may provide a response that best fits the individual situation.




What About Tylenol and Other Drugs?

Answering the Faulty Retort to Religious Objections Over Abortion-Derived Injections

NOTE: 

If your employer or school provides a form or asks questions that are designed to make you affirm something with which you disagree, you can respond verbally or in print before your signature with the following statement:

“I understand the above is your position. I am signing this document without waiver of my legal right to seek religious exemption and accommodation from any requirement that conflicts with my sincerely held religious beliefs, and without waiver of the right to seek legal redress from any wrongful denial of such exemption or accommodation.”



Vaccine Exemption Guide - Mat Staver

Constitutional expert, lawyer, author, pastor, and founder of Liberty Counsel Mat Staver discusses the important topics related to COVID shot exemptions, vaccine passports, and religious freedom. 




DENIED REQUEST


MILITARY — Religious Accommodation DENIAL APPEAL
This is an aid for drafting a military appeal to an initial religious accommodation request denial — not for use on a final appeal denial.

>>SAMPLE LETTER


EMPLOYMENT
  - File EEOC Complaint - see details below


FILE EEOC Complaint

If your request for religious exemption at your WORK has been DENIED, or APPROVED WITH UNPAID LEAVE, you will need to file a Complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Go the EEOC website at https://EEOC.gov and scroll to the bottom of the page where you will find additional links and information about submitting a complaint. The Complaint form will need to include a description of your religious accommodation request regarding your sincerely held religious beliefs to not take these COVID shots along with the employer’s response and the termination date. Please note that you generally have 180 DAYS to file a complaint against a private employer.
  1. Federal Employees:  Please note that Federal employees have different requirements and shorter deadlines (see https://www.eeoc.gov/federal-sector/overview-federal-sector-eeo-complaint-process (“Generally, you must contact the EEO Counselor within 45 DAYS from the day the discrimination occurred.”).
  2. State and Local Agencies:  States also have agencies that receive complaints, and you may be able to dual file to have both federal and state rights considered, which we strongly recommend. See,  https://www.eeoc.gov/filing-charge-discrimination (scroll to heading “With a State or Local Agency). 
If filing with a state or local agency, please make sure that your complaint has been dually filed with the EEOC.  If it has not, you may need to file with both agencies.  Please note that filing with one agency may not extend the deadline for filing with another agency.

NOTE: Filing the EEOC Complaint is required before you can file suit alleging a violation of federal law. This administrative process is the next step you should complete. The EEOC may (1) choose to attempt resolution of your Complaint with your employer, (2) file suit against your employer, or (3) issue you a “right to sue” letter that clears the way for you to file suit. If you receive a “right to sue” letter, you should immediately seek counsel of a local attorney who practices employment law in your state. Many employment lawyers offer review at no charge. You can also go to your State Bar website and search by practice area. Given the high volume of inquiries, we cannot commit to further review of "right to sue" letters at this time.

Settlements & Investigations: Remedies For Employment Discrimination / Compensatory & Punitive Damages



MILITARY: When asking for all associated documents, notes, and discussion records used during the review process for your religious exemption/accommodation…

Such a request for documents must be submitted through the appropriate process. Every major command has a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Coordinator and a web-based portal to submit requests. They usually group the FOIA and Privacy Act of 1974 (Privacy Act) requests on the same portal.

UPDATE: After further investigation, you should make your request with PRIVACY ACT FIRST.
  • With Privacy Act, you get any information the government has about you.
  • With FOIA, you get the same information that any member of the public can get. Only do this if Privacy Act comes back denied.

Defense Finance and Accounting Service – Privacy Act Request

FOIA Online – FOIA from participating Agencies

Army
FOIA
Privacy Act

Navy
FOIA
Privacy Act

Air Force
FOIA
Privacy Act

Marines
FOIA
Privacy Act

Coast Guard
FOIA & Privacy Act

Space Force
FOIA