![]() Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) ’s guidance on COVID-19 and equal employment opportunity laws state that employers “should ordinarily assume that an employee’s request for religious accommodation is based on a sincerely held religious belief, practice or observance.” What Is A Sincerely Held Religious Belief?įor purposes of you, the employee, requesting a religious exception to your employer’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement, what, exactly, is a “sincerely held religious belief” held by you? ![]() For instance, as a reasonable accommodation, an unvaccinated employee entering the workplace might wear a face mask, work at a social distance from coworkers or non-employees, work a modified shift, get periodic tests for COVID-19, be given the opportunity to telework (that is, to work remotely), or lastly, accept a reassignment. and unvaccinated workers are more likely to get COVID-19 and transmit COVID-19 to others, employers may have a compelling argument that allowing unvaccinated workers into the workplace would be an undue hardship.Īn employee who does not get vaccinated because of a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance (covered by Title VII) may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation that does not pose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer’s business. This is an easier standard for employers to meet than the A.D.A.’s undue hardship standard, which applies to requests for accommodations because of a disability.īecause COVID-19 has killed over 750,000 people in the U.S. Under Title VII, courts define “undue hardship” as having more than minimal cost or burden on the employer. In some circumstances, Title VII requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodations for employees who, because of a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance, do not get vaccinated against COVID-19 unless providing an accommodation would pose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer’s business. The federal equal employment opportunity laws do not prevent an employer from requiring all employees physically entering the workplace to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, subject to the reasonable accommodation provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (“Title VII”) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (“the A.D.A.”) and other equal employment opportunity considerations discussed in this article. This article examines, in turn, each of these sources of authority. Your entitlement, if any, to a religious exemption from your employer’s requirement that all of its employees in Manhattan be vaccinated against COVID-19 is governed by two separate bodies of law: federal laws (that is, laws applying throughout the United States) and New York City (including Manhattan) laws. However, it is substantially more difficult under New York City law than under federal law for your employer to avoid reasonably accommodating your religious belief (against getting vaccinated against COVID-19) on the ground that providing you with accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the business. ![]() ![]() Your Manhattan employer does not have to provide you with a reasonable accommodation if it would cause a direct threat to other customers or employees of the business or impose an undue hardship on the business. In some circumstances, federal law requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodations for employees who, because of a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance, do not get vaccinated against COVID-19 unless providing an accommodation would pose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer’s business.įurther, specifically in Manhattan, most employers must require all employees physically entering the workplace to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, subject to the employer’s duty to provide reasonable accommodation to employees who require them because of, among other independent reasons, a religious belief. If you are an employee in Manhattan with a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance that conflicts with your employer’s requirement that all employees physically entering the workplace be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you may or may not be entitled to a religious exemption from your employer’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement. ![]()
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