On October 25, 2021, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted updates to their expanded technical assistance related to COVID-19. The updated technical assistance provides additional information on equal employment opportunity laws and religious objections to workplace vaccine requirements.
The updated and expanded assistance provides new information about how Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies when an applicant or employee requests an exception from an employer’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement that conflicts with their sincerely held religious beliefs, practices, or observances. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
The EEOC is providing the updated information as many employers are requiring employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of their employment. Significant updates to the technical assistance includes:
- Employees and applicants must inform their employers if they seek an exception to an employer’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement due to a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance.
- Title VII requires employers to consider requests for religious accommodations but does not protect social, political, or economic views, or personal preferences of employees who seek exceptions to a COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
- Employers that demonstrate “undue hardship” are not required to accommodate an employee’s request for a religious accommodation.
The updated technical assistance answers COVID-19 questions only from the perspective of the EEO laws. Employers and employees must also consider other federal, state, and local laws that become effective during the COVID-19 pandemic for employees, employers, and applicants. New developments may impact the EEOCs COVID-19 technical assistance and the EEOC will provide additional updates and assistance to the public as needed.
The EEOC’s technical assistance page can be accessed here.
The April 28, 2021 EEOC’s record about the civil rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic can be accessed here.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
All employers must adhere to the federal, state, and local laws when mandating COVID-19 vaccines to their employees. Additionally, employers must also adhere to the EEOC requirements for nondiscrimination against employees who do not receive a COVID-19 vaccine due to religious objections. Education should be provided to all employees regarding the vaccine, and any employee who does not receive the vaccine due to religious objections must inform their employer if they will be seeking an exception from the vaccine due to their religion.
Discussion Points
- Review your policy and procedures on COVID-19 vaccine. Update your policy if needed.
- Train all staff on the importance of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and provide guidance to employees who will be seeking a religious exception for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Document that the training occurred and file each signed document in employees individual education file.
- Periodically audit staff to ensure that they any employee that has not receive the COVID-19 vaccine has appropriate approval by leadership for not receiving the vaccine.
