text: New EEOC FAQs on Requests for Religious Exceptions to Employer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates - TechServe Alliance | IT & Engineering Staffing Resources
  All employers should follow the most current guidelines and suggestions for maintaining workplace safety issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and any applicable state or local health agencies. Employers with 15 or more employees should also become familiar with and follow the guidance provided in all of the EEOC's FAQs about compliance with federal fair employment laws. These and all smaller employers should also ensure that they comply with all applicable state and local anti-discrimination laws.
  Vaccine Mandate Exemptions for Religious Beliefs
  The EEOC's new FAQs clarify, among other things, that employers with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate:
  Must provide reasonable accommodations to employees who request to be exempt due to "sincerely held religious beliefs, practices or observances";
  Do not have to provide accommodations that would cause "undue hardship" on their business;
  Must consider all potential accommodations before denying an employee's request for a religious exemption;
  Should generally avoid questioning the sincerity or nature of an employee's religious beliefs, unless they have objective reasons for doubting it; and
  Do not have to grant vaccine mandate exemptions for social, political or economic views or personal preferences.