News and Information

EEOC Issues Updated COVID-19 Technical Assistance (October 28, 2021)

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) COVID-19 Technical Assistance has been updated (as of October 28, 2021) with additional guidance on religious accommodations requests for exceptions to COVID-19 mandatory vaccination policies. FAQs include:

• Do employees who have a religious objection to receiving a COVID-19 vaccination need to tell their employer?
• Does an employer have to accept an employee’s assertion of a religious objection to a COVID-19 vaccination at face value?
• How does an employer show that it would an “undue hardship” to accommodate an employee’s request for religious accommodation?
• If an employer grants some employees a religious accommodation because of sincerely held religious beliefs, does it have to grant the requests of all employees who seek such an accommodation?
• Must an employer provide the religious accommodation preferred by an employee if there are other possible accommodations that also are effective in eliminating the religious conflict and do not cause an undue hardship under Title VII?
• If an employer grants a religious accommodation to an employee, can the employer later reconsider it?

For discussion of these issues, see “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws,” section L.