November 1, 2021
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently advised that “the definition of religion is broad and protects beliefs, practices, and observances with which the employer may be unfamiliar[…t]herefore, the employer should ordinarily assume that an employee’s request for religious accommodation is based on a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance[…h]owever, if an employee requests a religious accommodation, and an employer is aware of facts that provide an objective basis for questioning either the religious nature or the sincerity of a particular belief, practice, or observance, the employer would be justified in requesting additional supporting information.”
Accordingly, if an employer is aware that the request for religious accommodation/exemption to the vaccine mandate may be not be genuine by becoming aware of facts, circumstances, or behaviors that contradict or undermine the request, it may press the proffering employee to demonstrate a “good faith” basis for it.