(Disclaimer - NVIC does not tell people whether or not to take the vaccine, does not give legal or medical advice, and does not endorse any individual or organization.)
NVIC's FAQ on "What laws exist to protect employees and adults from vaccine mandates?"
https://www.nvic.org/faqs/employee-vaccine-mandates.aspx?fbclid=IwAR20HO3lnnUYB2c2JvlYsgVqNm-siMxMJ66q-Pb99nZeJVs4DJJld9VIjOA
Update from Liberty Council - Jan. 14, 2022 - CMS Shot Mandate Does Not Alter Medical and Religious Exemptions - Despite this decision from the Supreme Court, health care workers are still entitled to medical and religious exemptions under federal and some state laws. https://lc.org/newsroom/details/011522-cms-shot-mandate-does-not-alter-medical-and-religious-exemptions
Organizations protecting religious freedom and providing religious vaccine exemption information:
The Thomas Moore Society - https://thomasmoresociety.org/vaccine-legal-help/
Alliance Defending Freedom - https://adflegal.org/resources/covid19-vaccine-mandate
Liberty Council - https://lc.org/exempt
Pacific Justice Institute - https://pacificjustice.org/
The Rutherford Institute - The Rutherford Institute :: Know Your Rights: How To Request a Religious Accommodation for COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in the Workplace |
https://www.rutherford.org/files_images/general/2021_Vaccine_Exemption_Form_Letter.pdf
Individual Attorney resources:
Vaccine Mandates: What Are My Options? Written by Robert M. Owens, J.D. and published in the New American Magazine, Vol. 37, No. 19 on 10/04/2021. https://thenewamerican.com/magazine/tna3719/
Healthcare professional groups opposing mandates:
America’s Frontline Doctors - Religious Exemptions - America's Frontline Doctors (americasfrontlinedoctors.org)
Guardians of Medical Choice - GUARDIANS OF MEDICAL CHOICE IS A GROUP FOUNDED BY JENNIFER BRIDGES IN THE WAKE OF HER LAWSUIT AGAINST HOUSTON METHODIST IN MAY OF 2021 REGARDING THE FORCED VACCINATION OF ITS EMPLOYEES. - Home - Guardians of Medical Choice
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, AAPS - Since 1943, AAPS has been dedicated to the highest ethical standards of the Oath of Hippocrates and to preserving the sanctity of the patient-physician relationship and the practice of private medicine. HOME - AAPS | Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (aapsonline.org)
Airline and transportation groups:
US Freedom Flyers – We Call The Shots, Not Them!
US Freedom Flyers currently encompasses all travel and transportation-affiliated industries, including all employees, unionized or not, who are affected by the Federal Government’s Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates. Whether you’re a pilot, flight attendant, mechanic, dispatcher, gate agent, or ramper, we have room for you!
In addition, we seek to be an inclusive organization contributing to the support of other industries. If you are in other transportation industries, such as shipping, trucking, bussing, etc. please join our organization! If you are in an industry other than transportation and travel, we welcome you also, and want to collaborate with you to help preserve our medical freedoms!
Information on medical exemptions and accommodations under ADA (American's with Disabilities Act):
The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is the leading source of free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues. https://askjan.org/index.cfm
Information on mandates for federal employees:
https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/faq/vaccinations/
Q: Are there exceptions to the requirement for all employees to be fully vaccinated?
A: Federal employees must be fully vaccinated other than in limited circumstances where the law requires an exception. In particular, 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 because of a disability or because of a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance. Determining whether an exception is legally required will include consideration of factors such as the basis for the claim; the nature of the employee’s job responsibilities; and the reasonably foreseeable effects on the agency’s operations, including protecting other agency employees and the public from COVID-19. Because such assessments will be fact- and context-dependent, agencies are encouraged to consult their offices of general counsel with questions related to assessing and implementing any such requested accommodations. Additional guidance on legally required exceptions will be forthcoming.
Safer Federal Workforce Task Force COVID-19 Workplace Safety: Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors Issued September 24, 2021 - https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/downloads/Draft%20contractor%20guidance%20doc_20210922.pdf
Memo issued by Deputy Secretary, Department of Defense issued 10/1/2021 - SUBJECT: Mandatory Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination of DoD Civilian Employees - https://media.defense.gov/2021/Oct/04/2002867430/-1/-1/0/MANDATORY-CORONAVIRUS-DISEASE-2019-VACCINATION-OF-DOD-CIVILIAN-EMPLOYEES-OSD008990-21-RESP-FINAL.PDF
All DoD civilian employees must be fully vaccinated by November 22, 2021, subject to exemptions as required by law. Additional guidance, including procedures for processing vaccination exemption requests, will be published by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)). The USD(P&R) is authorized to rescind this memorandum as necessary for purposes of providing updated guidance.
Division of Federal Employees' Compensation (DFEC) - Coverage for Injuries Resulting from the COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate for Federal Employees. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/owcp/FECA/regs/compliance/DFECfolio/FECABulletins/FY2020-2024#FECAB2201
EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) Technical Assistance Questions and Answers - Updated on October 28, 2021 - What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws. https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-covid-19-and-ada-rehabilitation-act-and-other-eeo-laws
Interim final rule that Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers must meet to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The revisions to the requirements establish COVID-19 vaccination requirements for staff. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/11/05/2021-23831/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-omnibus-covid-19-health-care-staff-vaccination
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is issuing an emergency temporary standard (ETS). Covered employers must develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, with an exception for employers that instead adopt a policy requiring employees to either get vaccinated or elect to undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work in lieu of vaccination. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/11/05/2021-23643/covid-19-vaccination-and-testing-emergency-temporary-standard
EEOC Definition of Religion for the purposes of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act - Title VII defines “religion” to include “all aspects of religious observance and practice as well as belief,” not just practices that are mandated or prohibited by a tenet of the individual’s faith.[18] Religion includes not only traditional, organized religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism, but also religious beliefs that are new, uncommon, not part of a formal church or sect, only subscribed to by a small number of people, or that seem illogical or unreasonable to others.[19] https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/section-12-religious-discrimination#_ftnref18