I inquired asking if being tested weekly (which is being treated differently than anyone else) is grounds for a discrimination case against the business I work for. My lawyer wrote back and confirmed.
Hello,
You are correct that there is a lot of science to back up your position. Ultimately you are saying that the weekly swab is not a reasonable accomodation and you want to re-negotiate.
An employee offered no accommodation or that regards certain accommodations as unreasonable, can make a proposal of a ‘reasonable’ accommodation to HR. The EEOC expects a dialog and the employer is required to review other options and also provide Measurable, Quantifiable proof why accommodations proposed by the employee are not feasible (would cause undue hardship to the employer). A mere verbal claim of undue hardship is not sufficient.
Accommodations are something that is meant to be discussed and agreed upon between employee and employer and the EEOC expects a negotiation until both sides agree on what is reasonable. Otherwise, according to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII, you are being discriminated against and have a legitimate legal claim against your employer
I get why people want to go the religious exemption route. I understand we have to make a living. I don’t judge people’s choices when their choices are coerced. I myself have til Dec 8 to either get injected or file an exemption. Except I am perfectly healthy with a strong immune system; and my deeply-held religious belief is that my faith is between me and God and clergy is not necessary. (My employer requires a clergyman signature to file a religious exemption. However, getting a clergyman to legitimize my faith is against my religion.)
To me getting a religious exemption is still capitulation to totalitarianism. You are in practice accepting that someone has the right to dictate what you put on your body unless you stand on your head and beg for or convince them to “grant” you an exemption. My belief is that our right to make decisions about our bodies is inherent to being human. Free will is the soul and essence of humanity. To surrender your free will about your own body is to surrender a large part of your soul. Also you surrender ownership of your body to an entity that, to put it mildly, does not have your best interest at heart.
Do you have it I writing that your employer is requiring a clergyman to certify your faith?!
If so you are all set, that is extremely illegal and you will win easily. Still file for an exemption because religious reasons are the highest level of protection under federal law. Check out coffee and Covid.com for advice of the religious exemption route, you do not need to practice any particular faith, the EEOC actually has a lot of good title 7 info too.
I have my religious exemption statement written out and I think it’s good. It’s says my faith is between me and God and my deepest belief is that free will is the primary thing that makes us human. Without free will we are organisms responding to stimuli, so to be forced to take and injection I do not freely choose is an assault on my humanity. I’m writing more also, that that is the gist of it. It is the US Navy that is requiring the clergy signature. The company is a contractor. I am the only human member of my “church” so I’d have to act as clergy and sign the statement. But, as you say, it is not legal for them to ask for that. The US Constitution does not say we need any authority to legitimize our religion.
You don't ask permission for a religious exemption, you declare it. It's clear under the Civil Rights Act that you can do this.