Six workers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have filed a federal class action lawsuit over the lab's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, saying it violates the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

UT-Battelle, which is the lab's managing contractor, announced Aug. 26 that all employees must be vaccinated or have "an approved medical or religious exemption" by Friday.

A spokesperson for the lab previously told the Oak Ridger that exemptions would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

All of the plaintiffs named in the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday, have claimed a religious exemption to the vaccination policy. Only one plaintiff also claimed a medical exemption, which the lawsuit indicates is pending.

Their attorneys wrote in a statement that the lawsuit was not about overturning UT-Battelle's vaccine policy but rather seeking an alternative to unpaid leave.

"This is not about the merits of the vaccines," wrote Mark R. Paoletta of Schaerr Jaffe, a law firm based in Washington, D.C. "The reality is that some people have sincere religious objections to this vaccine, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires employers to respect sincerely held religious beliefs, even if corporations disagree with those beliefs."

The workers have asked the judge to allow unvaccinated workers with exemptions to remain in the workplace with accommodations including mandatory mask-wearing and periodic COVID-19 testing.

6 named plaintiffs but there are many more that will be put on unpaid leave as of October 15. Religious accommodation was granted but the accommodation will not allow them to return to work. Reportedly UT Battele will eventually terminate these employees.

https://www.givesendgo.com/utbdiscriminates

Im in the same boat. I work at a location that also works with ORNL. This is across the board for all DOE sites. 70% are basically vaccinated at my work facility and getting the boosters as fast as they come out.