Audrey - LAW- Memorandum Benchmark
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School
Grand Canyon University *
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Course
340
Subject
Law
Date
Jan 9, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
3
Uploaded by ChancellorWhalePerson1032
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Chief Operating Officer
FROM:
Audrey Hofer
DATE:
November 13
th
, 2022
SUBJECT:
Employee Monitoring and Religion
I. ISSUES
I. Whether federal law requires the company to allow religious exemptions to the company’s
vaccine requirements.
II. CONCLUSIONS
I. Yes
, federal law requires the company to allow religious exemptions to the
company’s vaccine requirements. Under religious protection laws and the Constitution
of the United States
, employers are unable to discriminate against religion, thus
legitimate religious exemptions must be accepted to preserve individual rights.
Employers must accommodate to exempt employees from mandates that infringe
upon religious beliefs in order to comply with anti-discrimination laws, as well as
religious freedom laws. If accommodations do not cause due harm
tn
the company
and the religious request is consistent with beliefs and historical behavior, employers
are unable to deny the exemption and enforce policies and rules that violate religious
freedom. Religious exemptions do not include political or economic beliefs as Title
VII only protects religious and ethical beliefs.
III. ANALYSIS
I.
Whether federal law requires the company to allow religious exemptions to
the company’s vaccine requirements.
By federal law, companies are required to allow religious exemptions from the company’s
vaccine requirements. (Title VII) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits religious
discrimination of employees based on their religious beliefs when hiring, firing, and promoting
(U.S. Department of Labor, 2022). Religious and ethical beliefs must be accommodated; Title
VII ensures that employers are reasonably accommodating unless the settlement will negatively
affect company efficiency, infringe on other jobs, compromise the safety, or harm other
employees (
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2022). Executive Order 11246
was issued to eliminate and prevent discrimination while further defending religious freedom.
Employers are restricted from enforcing policies and rules that violate individuals’ religious
and ethical beliefs without the option to opt-out.
Equally, employers are unable to enforce their
religious beliefs through policies on employees
(
U.S. Department of Labor, 2022). Federal law
permits businesses, churches, organizations, and individuals to receive exemptions from laws
that burden religious beliefs; employers must follow both federal and state laws and individual
rights remain while employed (Broad Religious Exemption Laws). The First Amendment clearly
states that no law, including mandates, may disable one’s right to freely exercise their religion.
An employee who presents a reliable religious exemption, supported by a religious leader or
organization, is unable to be forced to conform to an expectation that is dishonoring to beliefs.
Federal law protects individuals from enforced vaccination requirements that are sacrilegious to
an individual’s ethical practice or religion (
American Bar Association, 2022).
The Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission states that employers “
should ordinarily assume that an
employee's request for religious accommodation is based on a sincerely held religious belief,
practice or observance"
(U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2022).
If, however, a religious exemption is presented defending political, economic, social, or
personal preference beliefs, Title VII does not protect those factors as they are not classified as
a religion. Vaccine safety, toxicity, and unreliable statistic concerns are not practices of religion
rather they are identified as an opinion and an exemption may be overruled (Society for Human
Resource Management, 2022). Employees who desire to be religiously exempt but have behaved
inconstantly with opposing claimed beliefs or previous exemptions are contradictory, the request
may be denied if a false religion is proven (
American Bar Association, 2022
).
IV. REFERENCES
American Bar Association. (2022).
Sincerely Held or Suddenly Held Religious Exemptions to
Vaccinations.
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/i
ntersection-of-lgbtq-rights-and-religious-freedom/sincerely-held-or-suddenly-held/
Society for Human Resource Management. (2022).
When May an Employer Reject a Religious
Accommodation Request?
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-
compliance/employment-law/pages/coronavirus-employer-religious-accommodation-
request.aspx
U.S. Department of Labor. (2022).
Executive Order 11246
.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ofccp/executive-order-11246
U.S. Department of Labor. (2022).
Religious Discrimination and Accommodation in the Federal
Workplace.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/civil-rights-
center/internal/policies/religious-discrimination-accommodation
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2022).
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
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