Grant religious accommodation? You be the judge!

A recent religious accommodation case from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Texas employers) provides useful and actionable lessons on identifying when an employee’s religious exemption request is based on a bona fide religious belief.

Facts

Donald Wright, a Baptist Christian, worked for Honeywell International on a loading dock. In late 2021, the company insisted he receive a COVID-19 vaccination. He refused, claiming a religious exemption.

Wright submitted an exemption request form to Honeywell, writing that “our creator gave us [a gift] to choose and decide for ourselves” and that “in our constitution no man should be forced to do something he . . . is not comfortable with.” According to his request, he “didn’t like the response [his] body had” to a tetanus vaccine in 2015.

The company asked for a third person to vouch for Wright’s beliefs, and this is what his daughter said, in part: “It is our belief that humans should only use things that are created of the earth by God. We believe the vaccine is a claim of the mark of the beast[;] it is man made and goes against our religion.”

Honeywell said this was insufficient evidence to warrant an exemption. Request denied. Lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 follows.

Does he have a bona fide religious belief?

If Wright has a bona fide religious belief, the company must provide an accommodation; if not, it is off the hook.