I am a VP of HR, and here are my thoughts. You are correct that bill does not have the high ground since there's a two option decision to make. Bill can, however, go the medical exemption route. If a medical exemption is not approved (assuming bill does have a bona fide health condition that warrants an exemption) and bill is fired, the employer would be the one liable to prove they did not fire bill because of his medical condition. Yes, Bill lives in a right to work state, but the employer still must not discriminate against Bill based on his medical condition because that is against federal and state law, and they better be able to prove they fired him for a non-discriminatory reason. If the employer cannot do that, then the employer is liable for discrimination. Legally, Bill actually has the burden of proof to show the employer did fire him for a discriminatory reason, and that is what lawyers would tell bill - but how it ACTUALLY works in a law suit is that if the employer can't show proof of firing Bill for a non-discriminatory reason instead, discrimination is assumed valid and the employer loses the law suit. Or realizes they will lose and settles with Bill out of court before a trial.

I am a VP of HR, and here are my thoughts. You are correct that you do not have the high ground since there's a two option decision to make. You can, however, go the medical exemption route. If a medical exemption is not approved (assuming bill does have a bona fide health condition that warrants an exemption) and bill is fired, the employer would be the one liable to prove they did not fire bill because of his medical condition. Yes, Bill lives in a right to work state, but the employer still must not discriminate against Bill based on his medical condition, and they better be able to prove they fired him for a non-discriminatory reason. If the employer cannot do that, then the employer is liable for discrimination. Legally, Bill has the burden of proof to show the employer did fire him for a discriminatory reason - but how it ACTUALLY works in a law suit is that if the employer can't show proof of firing Bill for a non-discriminatory reason instead, the employer loses the law suit. Or realized they will lose and settles with Bill out of court before a trial.