![]() ![]() Suppose one believed that human sacrifices were a necessary part of religious worship, would it be seriously contended that the civil government under which he lived could not interfere to prevent a sacrifice? Or if a wife religiously believed it was her duty to burn herself upon the funeral pile of her dead husband, would it be beyond the power of the civil government to prevent her carrying her belief into practice? Laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices. United States, the Supreme Court rejected a claim of religious freedom and upheld a statute that criminalized bigamy. While “freedom of religion” was one of the principles on which our country was founded, it also has its limits. Neither of those cases, though, involved a religious exception, which raises different concerns. Confronting the argument often repeated today that a citizen has a right to decline a vaccine, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes countered in the 1905 Jacobson case, “ right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.” King (1922)-allowed states to require a smallpox vaccination as a condition to attend school. Massachusetts (1905), the Supreme Court held that the states, acting under their police powers, could require individuals to be vaccinated against smallpox or face a fine. As we noted in a previous blog, in at least two earlier cases, the Supreme Court acknowledged the right to impose vaccination requirements on the general public. None of the freedoms in the Bill of Rights is unlimited they each have a point at which the right gives way. Constitution, which, among other things, pronounces that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” It’s the “free exercise” and “religion” parts that are at play here. To understand the principles involved in determining whether to grant religious exemptions, it’s important to recall the First Amendment to the U.S. because of a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance.” According to the task force, “an agency may be required to provide a reasonable accommodation to employees who communicate to the agency that they are not vaccinated against COVID-19. Indeed, on September 16, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force issued clarifying guidance on the vaccine mandate, including the exemptions. The scope of this protection is important, because that language is commonly used to define those who can claim the religious exemption. ![]() The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has adopted guidance that prohibits discrimination-treating an employee differently-based upon “his or her religious beliefs.” Specifically, the guidance notes that it protects not only members of “traditional, organized religions,” but also “others who have sincerely held religious, ethical or moral beliefs.” What about the religious exemption? Who is eligible to claim it, and under what circumstances is the claim likely to be accepted? The short answer is: almost anyone can claim it, but not many will receive it. Still, a person with a sound medical reason to avoid the COVID-19 vaccine will probably be exempt. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not identified any “specific medical condition that would definitively bar a person” from being vaccinated, but neither has it confirmed the safety of the vaccine for persons with weakened immune systems or autoimmune conditions. ![]() These exceptions will be for medical or religious reasons. The federal government’s efforts to ensure that its workforce is fully protected from COVID-19, as employees return to the office amid the surge in Delta variant cases, have proceeded in fits and starts, culminating with President Biden’s September 9 executive order requiring “COVID-19 vaccination for all federal employees, subject to such exceptions as required by law.” ![]()
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