Vaccine Mandates: Short Overview of Religious, ADA, Medical, and Other Exemptions. Includes Military Vaccine Exemptions Policies.
President Biden is set to announce mandatory vaccines for federal employees on July 29th, 2021. The Department of Justice recently declared vaccine mandates by public and private employers are lawful. Despite the rhetoric, there are numerous medical, religious, and similar exemptions to vaccine mandates for civilians and military members,
EEOC Outlines Religious, Disability, and Medical Exemptions
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission completed an extension review of COVID-19 mitigation measures, including a detailed section on COVID-19 vaccination policies:
The entire EEOC page about COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act provides an excellent resource for understanding your employment rights (including religious rights):
Military Exemptions
Page 6 of the Joint Instruction (AR 40-562, BUMEDINST 6230.15B, AFI 48-110_IP, CG COMDTINST M6230.4G) Immunizations and Chemoprophylaxis for Prevention of Infectious Disease outlines vaccine exemptions available to military personnel:
Immunization Exemptions for Religious Beliefs Policy Process for requesting immunization exemptions, pursuant to the Navy Military Personnel Manual:
Religious exemptions for mandatory vaccine policies:
Religious Exemptions for Vaccine Mandates
Documents via Kaleb of Atlanta:
State School Vaccination Exemptions
State and Federal Authority to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccines
Federal law allows the detention of citizens to prevent the transmission of a communicable disease across state or national borders (page 7 of the Congressional Research Services PDF discusses the statute at length, including the limitations of these powers):
The following is an excellent assessment of vaccine mandates and provides a summary and citations of relevant statutes and case law related to vaccine mandates:
You can find the decisions in cited cases for free via Justia, Oyez, and the Library of Congress.
