9th Circuit reinstates religious accommodation claim

A religious accommodation claim for an employee’s “sincerely held” religious belief is a very narrow inquiry, separated from the question of what is actually barred by an underlying religious doctrine. Faced with an avalanche of religiously based exemption requests regarding COVID vaccine requirements, an employer went too far in requiring proof of sincerity of belief. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (whose rulings apply to all California employers) revived a workplace discrimination lawsuit, establishing a low bar for employees seeking religious exemptions from corporate policies. 

Do you believe? Say it again! 

In August 2021, The Permanente Medical Group instituted a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. Mimi Weiss, a remote senior consultant and adherent of Messianic Christian Judaism, requested an exemption based on her faith. She cited Biblical passages as the basis for her claimed religious obligation to keep her body uncontaminated by foreign substances, which to her included the COVID vaccine. 

Permanente initially granted her a provisional exemption. Weeks later, citing an influx of form-template exemption requests—and based on its concerns about a pattern of insincere religious-exemption requests among its employees—Permanente initiated a sweeping audit of claimed religious exemptions to the vaccine policy. It demanded that Weiss answer supplemental questions, including a detailed history of her adult medication use and an explanation of how the COVID-19 vaccine differed from other medicines. It asked: