OSHA Vaccine Mandates And Religious Exemptions: Tricky Situations Explained

Do you have to allow anyone that claims religion to have a vaccine exemption? Learn what to allow in your vaccine policy.

Now that the Supreme Court held the stay on the OSHA vaccine and testing mandate for many employers, you need to act quickly to decide if you will still mandate vaccines and testing. As you update your vaccine policy, you must consider the requirements and flexibility for religious exemptions.

Just because an employee claims the need for a religious accommodation does not mean that the employee is entitled to it. The stance of various religions complicates this analysis—most do not take an official anti-vaccine stance as a tenet of their faith. However, this does not stop employees from relying on them to opt out of vaccine requirements.

• What do organized religions say about the COVID-19 vaccine?
• How does Title VII define “religion”?
• How should the reasonable accommodation process work?
• What accommodations should an employer consider from a vaccine mandate?
• How can you identify legitimate from bogus accommodation requests?