The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently found that the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Education unlawfully discriminated against three Christian employees in 2021 by refusing to grant them religious exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
According to a press release from the EEOC, the three employees worked at Sherman Indian High School in Riverside, California, and were required by the Biden administration’s federal mandate to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The employees opposed the vaccine on the grounds that it was developed using aborted fetal cells, which conflicted with their Christian beliefs on the dignity of human life.
The department reportedly refused to grant the religious exemptions and said that allowing the employees to regularly test and mask instead of receiving the vaccine would be expensive and create an unsafe environment.
However, the EEOC found that the department would have been able to pay for vaccine testing supplies through federal funding distributed by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The EEOC also determined that granting the employees’ requests would not have put a substantial burden on the department.
Further investigation into the incident revealed that the department mishandled employees’ initial objections to the vaccine. In one instance, the department reportedly subjected the employees to “an inquisitorial panel to be quizzed and lectured on their medical history and knowledge of other medicines derived from human fetal cells.”
The May 18 appellate decision on the case, issued by the EEOC’s Office of the Federal Sector, called the procedure a “crucible of invasive gotcha-style questioning” that attempted to discriminate against the Christian employees and convince them to walk back their objections.
The case illustrates that even the federal government is subject to the law, according to the EEOC’s release.
“Today’s OFS decision is a step toward justice for federal employees who suffered under the pandemic-era policies of the Biden Administration,” EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas stated. “The government clearly fell short of its obligation under the law. Under my leadership, the EEOC is committed to pursuing accountability, ensuring compliance, and securing justice for all workers, in both the private and public sector.”
Under the decision, the employees will be compensated for the discrimination, while the department will be required to update its process for issuing religious exemptions in order to protect fairness and equality in the workplace.